They Call Me MISTER Snivvs
by millcityshaman
Summary: Sequel to Two Views. A Ravenclaw girl, Luna's Mom, befriends Snape. How long can it last? A story of friendship and gaining self respect. Takes place a the week after the events in Reasons, Not Excuses, but not a direct sequel
1. Nose Out Of Book

They Call Me Mr. Sniv – Sequel to Two Views

A Ravenclaw girl befriends Snape. How long can it last?

(If you didn't figure it out in the first story, Corona is supposed to be Luna's mother. I don't think she was ever named. And I came up with another librarian, because I don't think Pince was that old. I could be wrong. )

Chapter 1

Nose Out Of Book

It was Saturday, a free day. So Snape was doing his favorite thing; checking out material from the library.

"Can you find me these?" he asked Mr. Tome the librarian.

"Very interesting choice," Tome commented. "You may need a spell of your own to carry them."

As Severus waited for the librarian to find the requested items he impatiently rocked back and forth on his heals. It didn't seem silly to him until a familiar face showed up. He stopped and straitened up.

"Just the man I'm looking for," Corona said with her airy voice.

"You were looking for me Ms. Solaris?"

A nod was accompanied by a, "Uhhu."

Snape hadn't really thought Corona was serious when they had parted a week ago. He thought she had just said they'd be friends to stop him doing something he was glad she had stopped him doing.

"Some friends and I are going into Hogsmead. I'd like you to go with us."

Snape straitened even more before starting, "That is very kind of you Ms. Solaris - - "

"Corona," the girl insisted.

"Ms. Solaris, but you mustn't feel any obligation to - - "

Corona wasn't going to let Snape finish. "Oh so serious, Mr. Snape," Rona said. A smile danced on her face. "It's not a feeling of obligation Severus, I want you to go with us."

Severus searched for any signs of deception, or pity, in Corona's presence; he'd have neither. There wasn't any. This young lady was serious. The only question he had, that he couldn't find out was why. He told her, "Can't. I'm studying."

"And you can't study later?"

"No, it's a rather obscure text."

As Snape said this, Corona snatched the request slip out of his hand. "Of course it is. Or you wouldn't be in this part of the library." She read the slip. "Hittite spells." She cocked her head in thought. "I have a copy of that: First Spells, the Hittite Empire."

Snape took back the slip. "I'm quite sure it's not the same."

Mr. Tome returned with ten clay slabs and Sev explained, "These are the original cuneiform." He showed Rona one of the clay tablets. It was indented with triangular shapes pointing in different directions and combinations.

"You - - can read that?"

Snape took a deep breath before going into snark mode. "We see all manner of miraculous magic every day in this school, and what amazes you is that I can read this?"

Corona wasn't hurt by Severus' sarcasm. She laughed. "That's why you should join us today. You're quite funny."

"Funny?"

"The things you say. They're really humorous."

Not sure what to think, the Slytherin boy muttered, "Thanks?"

"Really now, you're going to Hogsmead with me and my friends today." She noticed a worried look cross Severus' face. "You would like to go?"

"To be honest, I would," Snape admitted, not sure why he had. "It's not much fun if one doesn't have money." He tried not to look too embarrassed, but it showed.

Corona picked up on his meaning. "Oh, I didn't realize." An idea popped into Rona's mind. "What if - - I give you - - "

"No," Sev cut her short. "I don't take offerings from anyone, no matter how nice they are."

"Let me finish; I'll give you say a galleon if you show me how to read these." She pointed to the tablets. She could see Sev's eyes going back and forth. He was considering the proposal. "Today you spend with me and my friends, tomorrow you show me what these say. Deal?"

One part of Severus' mind was thinking why should be bother. Another part was starting to feel something he hadn't felt in a while. It was nice to know someone else was interested in some of the same things he was. His Slytherin friends were Quidditch-heads, it could get tiring dealing with them. He was leery, but Corona still appeared - - genuine. Against his natural instincts, Snape thought he'd take the chance. It might actually be fun. It might not be a trick, like when one of the Gryffindor feigned friendship only to tell Potter and the others what kind of 'geeky' things Severus thought were fun. "Deal."

"Great. Let's go." Corona grabbed Sev's hand and started to drag him away from the library.

"Hang on." Sev pulled back. "I have to get the tablets. The library will be locked up tomorrow. I can't lug these all the way to Hogsmead with me."

"Okay. I told my friends to meet me at the gate by the road to Hogsmead. You go put these away and meet us there."

"Okay."

"I'd change into something other than your robes. It'd be conspicuous." Rona then skipped off. Severus couldn't believe he found himself thinking, 'It's nice to be around someone who still skips. Did I just think that? I didn't just think that." All the way down to the Slytherin dorm Snape was feeling confused. It felt great to have a new friend, but his darker instincts were making him think he was being foolish. Thinking about what he had almost done a week ago made him not care if it was foolish. It felt good to feel good again. He needed to forget the friend he didn't have anymore.

tbc


	2. Saturday In Hogsmeade With Sev

They Call Me Mr. Sniv

Ch.2 Saturday in Hogsmeade With Sev

Down at the beginning of the road to Hogsmeade Corona met up with six other Ravenclaw students. One of them asked, "You couldn't get your mystery friend to join us?"

"He's coming Xeno." She wrapped her arm in the arm of the boy who had asked the question.

"Just who is this guy anyway," One of the girls asked.

"It's one of the Slytherin boys. He stays in too much."

One of the boys rolled their eyes and queried, "Slytherin - - "

"Please give him a chance. I told him my friends wouldn't mind."

The group nodded in various manners. They trusted Rona's judgment. If she thought this kid was acceptable, he must be. The subject turned to where they should go when they reached Hogsmeade. It was not long before Severus was walking out of the gate and starting up the hill to where he saw Corona.

"Oh, there he is." Rona waved.

Xeno squinted to see who was coming. "You mean the kid behind - - Snape?"

"No, it is Snape."

Corona's friends looked at each other in bewilderment. Mumbles of, "Snape," hovered around them. Those who didn't know him by name knew the sight of him. "That kid?"

"Uhhu," Rona verbalized. Then she reiterated, "Give him a chance."

"This is going to be an interesting day," Xeno quipped.

"Yes, it will be," Rona's optimistic voice replied.

As he made his way to the group surrounding his new friend, he tried not to look too self-conscious. He felt practically naked not having his robes to hide under. All of his clothes where worn through in some place or another, but he actually looked like a teenager for a change. A faded, frayed, denim jacket covered a dark green tee shirt. Keeping with the Slytherin color pattern, gray cords, flood length, led down to well-worn work boots. His hands were shoved into his pockets adding to his usual slump. Seeing how many 'friends' were with Corona made him nervous. He greeted, "Ms. Solaris."

"Corona," She put him at ease before introducing. "Guys this is Severus."

A nervous "Hello," came out of Snape's mouth.

"Hi," some of them said back.

"This is my boy friend Xeno." She didn't give any last names as she indicated the others. "Tristan, Lloyd, Freda, Sasha, and Victorio."

Snape gave a nod to each of them.

"Let's get going," Xeno added.

The group began to make the hike to the little village. They were still discussing the order of their visits. One of the girls had been passing around small mint candies to her friends. When offered, Sev took a few as well.

"We should visit the nightingale's perch," Lloyd recommended. "They have records there, you know, for the year end dance."

Sasha, the girl who had been giving out the mints asked, "Have you heard some of that new muggle music?"

"Muggle dance music?"

"I think they call it disco."

As Sasha said this, a gagging sound could be heard from Severus' direction.

"What was that Severus?" Sasha thought she'd put him strait.

"Nothing. Swallowed one of the mints," Sev lied and pretended cough.

"What do you like to - - " Corona was going to say dance to, but realizing Sev probably didn't dance, changed in time to say, " - - Listen to."

Snape unconsciously tried to look even smaller, he hunched and looked down.

"It can't be that bad."

"Well - - " A rush of bravery came to the Slytherin boy. "There are s couple of bands I like but it's not really dance music."

"Like what?" Lloyd asked.

It was muggle music but Severus answered, "Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd - - "

"I've never heard of those bands, and why are you asking me if I'm pink?"

"No, no, no. That's the name of a band, Pink Floyd."

That's a rather weird name for a band," Xeno added.

To the rescue, Corona went in for the save. "You'll have to show us when we get there. We'll have a listen.

The subject veered a different way and Severus was grateful.

When they reached the edge of Hogsmeade Rona spoke. "Oh, by the way, here's the money I owe you." She pressed a gold coin into Severus' hand. He was glad she had covered for him. In his heart he knew she didn't want to really learn how to read cuneiform, did she? She was just being nice, wasn't she?

Tristan was the first to suggest eating. "I don't know about anyone else, but I could go for a chocolate shake."

"Yhea," Lloyd interjected. "All that flying this morning has made me hungry."

The thought that rushed to Snape's mind was, 'More Quidditch heads, oh great.' Still the shake part sounded good.

"And some chips," Freda added. "I like to dunk hot salty chips in a cold vanilla shake."

They made their way to the Three Broom Sticks. Aside from the other fare at the pub it had the best homemade ice cream. Inside, the group had to take up two booths as each only held four people. It just so happened that Sev ended up with Rona, Xeno, and Freda. The boys were on one side, the girls facing them on the other. The smile on Corona's face made Snape wonder if this hadn't been a sort of set up. The look on Freda's face made him think she thought the same thing. They both looked up at each other then hurriedly back down at the menus.

This was embarrassing. Freda sat there as posture correct as a debutant at a coming out party. She wore the most fashionable clothes. Not a hair was out of place. To add to it she wore some kind of perfume that smelled like galleons. Severus sat there hunched over as if he were a turtle trying to hide in his shell. None of his clothes were even new when they came into his possession. His sooty potion greased hair was all over the place and he smelled like the sulfur he had pounded out for Professor Slughorn that morning. Odd would be an understatement for this couple.

tbs


	3. Quidditch Heads

They Call Me Mr. Sniv

**Author's note: I was only able to post so many chapters all at once because I had it written up and had time to type it up. I am going to be working on my other stories so it may be a few days before more shows up here.**

Ch.3 Quidditch Heads

Snape worked up enough courage to ask, "So, Ms. Freda, you like vanilla?"

"Love it." She didn't sound annoyed. She didn't mind that he'd actually dared to speak to her. "It's the only flavor for dipping chips in."

"Can't say I've ever tried that."

There was more silence till Freda piped up, "I bet you're a chocolate man."

Not quite sure if this were good or bad he said, "I actually think I'm going to try strawberry. I like to try things I've never had."

Xeno questioned, "You never had strawberry ice cream?" Rona kicked him under the table. He didn't peruse the matter any further. "I prefer pistachio myself."

Again the table grew quiet. The other table with the three boys and one girl had no problem talking. They were talking of what else, quidditch.

"Did you see that blundger that Tristan beat back?" Lloyd asked his friends.

"Oi, that one was noting compared to the one Freda stopped," Tris added. "Nearly took Sasha's pretty little head off." He turned and gripped the back of the booth where Severus sad directly behind. "You should have seen it," He told the other table. Then he took note of their newest companion. "You like quiditch, don't you Severus?"

Sev didn't need to answer because Tristan kept talking. "I remember where I've seen you now. You are on the Slytherin team right?" Tris knew darn well Snape was not 'on' the team.

Sev put correct, "No I'm not."

"But I swear you're always with them."

Not wanting to admit he was their equipment manager, i.e. towel boy, Sev admitted, "I help out."

"But you don't play?"

"No."

"Too bad."

"Surely."

Tristan turned back to his own table as the shakes and other food arrived. He still muttered, "Could have swore I saw him flying by the lake last week."

While the quidditch players seemed to get the joke and snickered, Xeno apparently didn't know about what the marauders had done to Snape the week before said, "You quidditch players think the sun rises and sets on that game."

Freda shrugged before saying, "I know there's more to life than quidditch." She took a sip of her snow colored shake and popped a chip (French fry) in to mingle with it. When she'd swallowed she added, "But I don't know what that may be."

Her teammates at the other table were snickering again. Victorio the only non-quidditch player at that table finally said something. "Maybe you lot should find that out."

"Here, here," Corona raised her shake glass in the air. "Life beyond quidditch."

Severus almost choked on the straw full of strawberry shake he'd been sipping up. He liked this Ravenclaw girl. That was something even he could toast to. Victorio came round to their table to join in. Vic, Xeno, Rona, and Sev repeated the toast with raised glasses. "Life beyond quidditch!"

Was that a real laugh sneaking out of Snape's mouth? It had been until the dreaded voice of the bane of his existence could be heard. "Pink is without a doubt your color Snivlly." Of course it was James Potter. As ever Sirius Black stood ready to add his own derision; Remus Lupin looked anywhere but at the other boys, not ready to confront his friends; and Peter Pettigrew giggled like a prepubescent girl.

Sirius spat out, "Did you conger up some friends Sniv?"

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Corona said in a firm but not angry tone. Rona never seemed to be angry.

"Still getting girls to stand up for you Sniv," Sirius continued. "Rona you're standards are slipping."

Both Xeno and Sev stood to defend Corona. Simultaneously they said, "Leave her alone."

It was Peter who tried his hand at wit, "Look Snivellus and Flaky like the same girl."

At this Lloyd and Tristan stood. "You lot had better clear off eh," the latter said. They were taller and broader than any of the marauder boys. "You can insult the Slytherin all you want, but you shouldn't pick on someone as sweet as Rona, and someone as smart as Xeno."

Knowing the Ravenclaw quidditch players well, the Gryffindor ones backed down. "Latter Snivlly."

Rona snapped after them, "Why do you call Severus that horrid name?"

James turned back to indicate towards her own friends. "Is it any worse than what they call him?"

"What do you mean?" Rona looked towards the Ravenclaw quidditch players.

"As you're not a quidditch player, I imagine you don't know each team has a name for him."

"Except for the Slytherin of course," Remus tagged on.

"See ya."

Things were awkward now. Severus actually was the one to ease the tension. "Pay them no attention. It's what I plan on doing." He was determined he was not going to get angry this time. He wasn't going to insist on confronting the Ravenclaw quidditch players. He was going to finish his shake.

It was Corona who seemed upset. "Tris - - You don't call Severus that name, do you?" She hadn't wanted to hurt Snape; she wanted to know what kind of people her friends were. Tristan was too ashamed to answer.

Sasha wasn't. "No, we don't call Mr. Snape Snivllus, we call him Snarkacus."

A snort of a laugh come from Lloyd who added, "Hufflepuff call him the Slytherin's broom less wonder."

Rona could see Snape's eyes close. It was obvious he was trying to hide the hurt.

"He's their secret weapon. Puts all kinds of speed charms on their brooms."

Severus slowly stood put the galleon on the table. Although it was enough to buy twenty shakes he said through gritted teeth, "That should cover mine." He was glad he was sitting on the outside. Xeno wouldn't have to move or be able to block his departure. "Excuse me." Without any further words he was out the door.

"Nice going," Rona crossly scolded. Apparently there were some things that could get her angry.

Xeno gave Rona a sympathetic look. "Come on." He took her by the hand, sliding her past Freda, to follow the Slytherin boy.

Outside Xeno called out, "Severus wait. Those guys are quidditch heads, you can't take them seriously." Snape actually stopped walking, but he couldn't look them in the eyes. Hands were shoved back in pockets, slouch returned. "You heard what they all call me, Flaky."

Rona added, "and they're his friends."

"If that's friends - - " Sev didn't finish the thought. "Suppose I am snarky anyway."

"Didn't know there was a law against that," Xeno said. His tone was so light even Snape had to smile.

"Not that I've heard of," Sev teased back.

"Then why don't we go to that music store," Rona suggested.

"Listen I appreciate what you're trying - - "

"Then let her try," Xeno put in.

"I don't want you two to be my friends because you feel sorry for me. That's worse that Potter's nonsense."

"Then we won't feel sorry for you."

Corona said, "But we still want to be your friends."

Severus' ever suspiciousness came out. "Why?"

"Real friends don't need a why."

Snape couldn't figure it out. What she said seemed right. Why did this feel right?

"And maybe we have an affinity for Snarky people."

After hearing that, Severus was able to have something he hadn't done in a long time. He was having a genuine lighthearted moment. He couldn't figure it out.

tbc


	4. Dance Music?

They Call Me Mr. Sniv chapter 4

Dance Music?

"Suppose we could go listen to the music," Snape agreed. "You really what to hear it."

"How will I know if I like it," Rona questioned, "If I don't listen to it?"

Xeno added his own suggestion, "You could listen to some of the songs we like."

"All right."

The three teens started to walk around the corner from the Three Broom Sticks towards the Nightingale's Lair. Someone came running up behind them. Out of instinct Snape reached for his wand.

"Whoa there Snape." It was Vic. He had come after them. "No need for that."

Severus lowered his wand. "Sorry, habit."

"Here." Vic held out his hand towards Snape. Sev looked puzzled. "It's yours. You left way too much money for an ice cream shake."

A tentative hand reached for the money. "Thanks."

"The other's thought we should use it to pay our bill. I didn't think it was right."

"Then you're a fool."

"Beg pardon?"

"That's just how he talks Vic," Corona

Vic turned to Snape to ask, "That so?"

"I suppose."

Vic looked at the dark boy that his Ravenclaw friends had invited into their afternoon at Hogsmeade. He was trying to figure out just what Corona and Xenophillius were thinking. Sure the others in their party had acted badly, but he had just done something nice for the Slytherin, and Snape snarked him.

He thought about what Rona had said about that being his way, he wasn't sure he wanted to spend the whole day with someone who's way was to insult someone who'd been decent to him. Vic decided he would put up with Snape for his friends sake, at least until he couldn't take it. He addressed them rather than continue to exchange barbs with the newcomer. "So, are we going to get some records for the dance?"

"That's the plan," Rona confirmed.

The music shop in Hogsmeade had everything to do with music, not just records. In one part of the shop there were all manner of instruments for sale. Along the walls parchment of sheet music sat on shelves. While passing through this section shoppers could hear a group of people practicing for an upcoming concert of Gregorian chants. It gave the place a dark tone.

Most of the young people visiting from Hogwarts were making their way to the recorded music section. That was on the second floor. Snape surprised his fellow students by asking to wait and listen to the singers. "Hang on, I want to hear this bit," he said as if he knew the piece. The three other kids were surprised to see Severus actually close his eyes and listen intently to the dark harmonies. When a certain passage had finished, his eyes were open and he told them, "we can continue." They climbed the stairs to the record section of the Nightingale's Lair.

The first area just off of the stairs seemed to be the section with classical music, be it wizard or muggle. The young people looked around for the records that they wanted to hear. After a few minutes of looking lost, the shop owner took notice. "And what can I help you young wizards with?" He was an old wizard so Severus didn't think he'd know the bands he wanted. The Slytherin boy told him the names and the owner pointed to another staircase with a sign above with an arrow pointing up that read, 'LOUD teenaged music.'

"Ah, that would be it," Snape said. He and his new friends made their way up to that floor.

Vic was actually the first to ask, "So where are these bands you like?" There was a certain tone of 'now we'll see how weird this guy is' in the question.

Looking through the stacks of records and eight-track tapes Snape wasn't sure where to start. He had been wanting to buy his own copy of the new Pink Floyd album ever since he had heard another Slytherin's copy. He thought about one song in particular. Though it had been good for the brooding he'd been doing in the week since Lily had given him the brush off, he wasn't sure it would be a good introduction to the band to play a song that talked about someone having 'someone in my head and it's not me,' in it. He thought of a safer choice from the album before. He took the record in its jacket out of the stack and tapped it with his wand, "Sample – Side 2 – Track 2."

The song emerged from the record and wafted to the ears of the three other youngsters.

_'So you think you can tell heaven from hell_

_Blue skies from pain_

_Can you tell a green field from a steel rail?_

_A smile from a veil_

_Do you think you can tell?_

_And did they get you to trade_

_Your heroes for ghosts_

_Hot ashes for trees_

_Hot air for a cool breeze_

_Cold comfort for chains_

_And did you exchange_

_A walk on part in the war_

_For a lead roll in a cage_

_How, I wish you were here_

_We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl_

_Year after year_

_Running o'er the same old ground_

_What have we found?_

_The same old fears_

_Wish you were here'_

"You're right," Xeno said. "You can't really dance to that. But I like it."

Snape had pulled out another album half way before he put it back.

Corona wondered, "What was that?"

"I like that one," Severus answered. "But it has a special Slytherin meaning for me."

"What does that mean?"

"Probably something to do with the dark arts no?" Vitorio remarked.

"No," Snape said with a perturbed tone. He took the album by the band Yes out again and tapped it with his wand. "Sample - disk 2 – track 2."

Only the part of the song he wanted them to hear played.

_'In and around the lake mountains come out of the sky and stand there_

_One mile over we'll be there and we'll see you_

_Ten true summers we'll be there and laughing too_

_Twenty-four before my love you'll see_

_I'll be there with you - - '_

"And why is that Slytherin?" Vic questioned.

"Because, we live under the lake." Snape would have added 'duh' if he wasn't trying to be nice.

"But we see the lake, so it would be good for the rest of Hogwarts," Corona added.

"Good point." Severus popped the album back. "Now Ms. Solaris, it is your turn."

Rona laughed. "We're back to Ms. Solaris are we?"

Eyebrows went up on the Slytherin's face, he shrugged, but it was in a light-hearted way.

Corona found the one she was looking for. Severus looked at the cover. The band members were all wearing ridiculously long tartan scarves. He thought to himself, 'Are they related to the mad knitter, Molly Weasley?'

The Ravenclaw girl was saying, "This is something you can dance to." Her wand gave it a tap.

The song began with an apparent spelling bee.

_'S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y night'_

This repeated itself several times before the real singing part came in. Xeno and Rona began to swing dance to it. Rona spun under Xeno's arm and back and forth as the band sang of very little but keeping _'dancing to the rock and roll,'_ or _'Keep on dancing with my baby on Saturday night, Saturday night - - "_

Snape listened politely but hadn't been moved. He wondered why Saturday night seemed to be so important in this Bay City place. He still complemented, "You two dance real well."

"What about the song?" Corona queried.

"I didn't, dislike it," Snape told the truth.

"But it didn't do anything for you?"

"Not really."

"If you don't dance to the music that you like," Vic asked. "What do you do besides listen to it?"

tbc


	5. What DO Slytherins Do For Fun?

They Call Me chapter 5

What DO Slytherin Do For Fun?

Before answering Vic's question, Severus looked up and down the stacks to make sure they were quite alone. "I uh - - " he wondered to himself why he was admitting this. Only other Slytherins had seen this side of Snape. "I uh, air guitar."

The Ravenclaws looked puzzled. "Air guitar," each of them muttered.

Corona asked, "What's that?"

'Oh Merlin,' Sev thought. 'It's such a muggle thing.' But it was fun. "Air guitar, you know - - " Snape motioned as if he were playing a riff on an invisible guitar. "Air guitar."

The Ravenclaws still looked confused. The Slytherin happened to have a The Who album in hand. It happened to have one of his favorite air guitar songs on it. "Hold this," he requested of Corona. She complied. The wand tap was followed by, "Sample second disk track 7."

Taking his best rock god pose, Snape began to pretend to play his invisible guitar. The song started out slow: _'Only love can make it rain.'_ So the strokes were slow to match. _'Like the beach is kissed by the sea - - '_

The other kids still couldn't see the point. But they were surprised by the words of the song; it seemed so not Severus Snape.

_'Only love can make it rain_

_Like the sweat of lovers, laying in the fields.'_

Then the song picked up and the effect was clearer. 'Oh, he's playing a guitar,' each had some version of this realization in their head.

_'Love reign o'er me_

_Love reign o'er me_

_Rain on me.'_

The song slowed again, so did the air guitarist.

_'Only love can bring the rain_

_That makes you yearn for the sky_

_Only love can bring the rain_

_That falls like tears, from on high._

_Love Reign o'er me_

_On the dry and dusty road_

_The nights we spent apart alone_

_I need to get back home_

_To cool, cool rain.'_

Snape began to become even more animated with the movements of his fake instrument even thought it was a sensitive part of the song.

_'The nights are hot_

_And black as ink_

_I can't sleep_

_And I lay and think_

_Oh God, I need a drink of cool, cool rain.'_

Severus went in for the finale. By the time the song was done, he had given the best air guitar impression of Pete Townsend ever seen in the wizarding world. It was the only air guitar impression ever seen in the wizarding world.

_'Love reign o'er me_

_Love reign o'er me_

_Rain on me.'_

"You certainly like some intense music," Xeno commented.

Snape wondered out loud, "Is that good or bad?"

"It's good," Lovegood acknowledged. "Now, it's my turn." He searched the records. "I heard this song I'd like to play for Rona. It's by an American band. It's good for slow dancing. Kind of romantic, if you get my meaning." He winked. Finding the record, he turned it so all could see.

"Styx?" Sev read. "A band named for the river of Death sings a song you think is romantic?"

"Ah, you wait and see." Xeno tapped his wand to his record and it began. Xenophilius acted as if he were singing the song to Corona, appropriate hand and face gestures included.

_'Lady, when you're with me I'm smiling_

_Give me all your love_

_Your hands build me up when I'm sinking_

_Just touch me, and my troubles all fade_

_Lady, from the moment I saw you_

_Standing all alone_

_You gave all the love that I needed_

_So shy, like a child who has grown_

_You're my lady of the morning_

_Love shines in your eyes_

_Sparkling, clear, and lovely_

_You're my lady_

_Lady turns me on when I'm lonely_

_Show me all your charm_

_Evenings when she lays down beside me_

_Just take me gently into your arms_

_You're my lady of the morning_

_Love shines in your eyes_

_Sparkling, clear, and lovely_

_You're my lady_

_Lady of the morning_

_Love shines in your eyes_

_Sparkling, clear, and lovely_

_You're my ... lady.'_

Vic didn't seem to be moved by his friends gesture to his lady. "Xen that's a bit mushy, don't you think?"

It was Severus who stepped in. "No, I think Xeno is right. Just look at the reaction he got from Ms. Solaris." Indeed Corona had melted. "I wish - - " Snape stopped himself before he could say, 'I could sing it to Lily.' He trusted Lovegood and Solaris, not Victiorio.

"So - - " Vic ignored Snape's comment and addressed his friend, "Why don't you listen to something I think you should play for the dance?"

"I never said I wouldn't," Xen sounded a bit snarky himself. "That's why we're here."

Rona interposed, "Go find one you like Vic."

He didn't seem to like any of the three other's style of music, so Severus wondered what Victorio would come up with.

"No peeking," Vic requested. They could hear him tap a record and request it play. The song started, it seemed to be some kind of light insipid instrumental. It went on for a while with no words until a non descript voice uttered the words, _'Do the Hustle.'_ Vic had insisted that this "was the latest dance craze." He demonstrated this as well making his friends line up and follow him. Severus would have no part of it. The other Ravenclaws tried it and seemed to catch on. The song seemed to go on and on repeating the same thing over and over again. The dance was exactly the same way. As the Ravenclaws danced, a pained look grew on Snape's face. It grew more intense as the music, went on. When it ended he couldn't stop himself from muttering, "Thank God, if I had to listen to that for much longer I think my ears would hemorrhage."

Even though Xeno and Rona snickered, Vic took Snape's comment personally. "You just made us listen to the loudest, ear damaging music I've ever heard, and you believe your ears are going to hemorrhage from this very melodic music?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe it." Snape was in rare form. "Oh, wait a minute, maybe it was my brain that felt like it was going to seizure."

"Well, I'm going to buy this record, and play it at the year end dance," Vic proclaimed. He started down the stairs to go pay. "And I'll be that NORMAL people will enjoy dancing to it."

Snape made a face after him, sneering and shaking his shoulders as if he were saying, 'So there.'

"You sure know how to charm people, don't ya Sev," Xeno remarked.

"I only said the truth."

"The truth in your eyes," Rona gently conveyed.

"You two didn't actually like that infernal excrement, did you?"

Exchanged glances went between the couple. Their faces scrunched up like children who had been caught at something. "No - - " Corona gave in. "But did you have to be so nasty about it?"

"Here it comes," Snape was thinking to himself but he had said it out loud.

"Here comes what?"

"This is where you tell me what a jerk I am, and storm off after your friend whom I have terribly offended."

"What makes you think that's what I'm going to do?"

"It's what I was going to do," Xeno confessed.

Rona swatted him playfully. "You were not."

"I wasn't?"

Snape shook his head in bewilderment. "He wasn't? You're not?"

"Nope. You can't get rid of me so easily."

Xeno wondered, "He can't?"

"He can't." Corona spoke to Xenophilius, but her words were meant for Severus' ears as well. "He's testing me, us. Wants to see how far he has to go before we give up on him, because everyone else has." She turned to Snape. "Do I excaudate?"

'Busted,' Snape thought. He shrugged. "Maybe not." He liked the fact that she was not pulling any punches either. She didn't use the snarky manner he did, but she was a speaker of the truth. Even if that truth hurt him. He knew she had his number. "You're very perceptive Ms. Solaris."

Mr. Lovegood felt compelled to add, "Yes, she is Mr. Snape."

tbc


	6. Make The Man

They Call Me chapter 6

Make The Man

So," Corona asked, "are we going to stop all this game playing, and get to the part where we have fun?"

Snape didn't know what to say. He wasn't trying to give Rona and Xeno a hard time. It had just become second nature for him to act that way.

Corona turned to Xenophilius and asked him, "Xen, be a dear and give me a minute to talk to Severus alone for a minute?"

"I'll go look over there," Xeno said as he pointed to the next stack over.

When he was a distance where they wouldn't be heard, Rona talked to the other boy who looked as if he wanted to ask what her game was.

"Severus, form what little I know of you, I realize it's not easy for you to trust people. When I saw what James Potter did to you last week, then I ran into you in the tower, I felt that I - - I wanted to help you."

Snape opened his mouth to protest, but she stopped him. "Not because I felt sorry for you, but because I know what it's like. I haven't been, actually I'm still not, the most popular person, even other Ravenclaws made fun of me. Some people did really mean things to me because, well, I'm a little - - odd."

"You don't seem odd to me," Sev let slip.

"And you don't seem so odd to me. Moreover, what's the big deal about being odd? I kind of like odd. People think Xen's a little odd, and - - " She blushed. "Well, I love him."

The moment Corona spoke of love, a look came over Severus that made him look like a lost long eared bread of puppy. "I hope you have better luck in that department than - - "

"You know what they say, there's - - "

"I swear if you say there's other fish in the sea I'll scream."

"You've got it bad, hu?"

"You have no idea. I'd do anything for Lily, right or wrong." Snape began to pace unsure of how much he should say. "If she were under an Imperius curse, and someone told her to kill me, I wouldn't lift a finger to stop her. I couldn't. I could never hurt her, even to protect myself." The Slytherin boy's lowered his head and looked at the floor. "I thought she knew that. I thought she understood."

"That last bit's a little morbid."

"Sorry."

"No need to be sorry if it's how you feel."

"But I can't continue to dwell on it, if I do, I'll explode. I think you said something about having fun."

"Why don't we get the records, and go somewhere else?" Corona took the ones she wanted to buy over to Xeno was waiting with the ones he'd picked out. The two of them locked arms again.

Severus looked at the record he held. He had wanted his own copy, but he felt he should use the money on something he needed more. He slid the record back into its place, and joined his friends. 'They're for real,' he thought. "I can trust them.' Snape was trying to convince himself.

"No records?" Xeno asked.

"Changed my mind," Snape said. "I can listen to the one in the dorm."

As the three went down the stairs to pay for the records, Severus looked nervous. He was working himself up to ask the Ravenclaws something. As they paid, Rona and Xeno saw Sev getting more and more pensive. When they left the Nightingale's Lair he nervously said, "I need to ask you two something."

They looked his way waiting for what Snape wanted. "I need some help doing something." Rona and Xeno nodded. They could see this was clearly embarrassing for the Slytherin.

"As long as it isn't illegal," Xen joked.

"Or kinky," Rona teased.

Snape coughed. "Don't give me ideas Solaris." He gave back as good. "It's just, I need, opinions and I've never really - - " Sev balked again. "This is a stupid idea, I don't know what I'm thinking."

Corona's good timing came in again. "I haven't heard your idea yet, so I'll wait to see if it's stupid."

Xeno chose now to suspiciously ask, "Just what is it you want us to do?"

"Nothing nefarious," Sev assured. "It's just - - "

Rona was, as said earlier, very perceptive. She noticed the whole time he'd been trying to ask them the favor, Snape had been fiddling with various holes or frays in his clothing. She let the boy take his time to open up. "I don't supposed you couldn't have not noticed - - " He fingered the coins in his pocket. " - - I don't have the nicest things. - - " It was clearly hard for the boy to confess. Anyone else would have told him to get to the point, and flustered him. "I'd like to ask you two if you could help me buy some new clothes."

Relief washed over Rona and Xeno, it wasn't something difficult being requested.

"I think we can handle that," Corona said for the both. "Follow me."

The Ravenclaw girl led the two boys off in a direction that both of them knew. Xen knew because it was commonplace for him. Sev knew because, though he'd only been to Hogsmeade a couple of times, he had spent a good deal of those times staring through the window of the store that Rona was heading for. The closer they got, the more apprehensive Snape got; or was it excited? Maybe it was a little of both. Severus walked ahead of the girl when Gladrags Wiardware came into view. He looked through that window again. It was still there. He looked up with almost lust in his eyes. "That one." Severus pointed to a stylish black suit. It looked like it was made for Snape's skinny frame. The top resembled a cross between a frock coat and the long coats worn in some parts of India. Down from the bottom of the coat pants tapered down to black boots. Snape asked his new friend, "Corona, can you go in and ask them what it costs? I don't want to go in unless - - "

Before he could finish, Rona was already through the door flagging down one of the salesmen. Sev and Xen could see her talking to the man with a tape measure around his neck as she pointed to the black suit. What they couldn't see was the way Solaris was haggling with he tailor. "You could take some off couldn't you?"

The salesman admitted, "It has been there for a while. Seemed to be waiting for the right man to come along and buy it."

"And my friend is that man, so I'm sure you could give him a good discount." Rona was so sweet, how could he refuse?

He told her that he could sell the suit for four Galleons. She knew Sev didn't have enough. Wondering if he'd let her loan him the rest, she had another idea. "Can you tell him, it's a Galleon, and I'll give you the rest."

"Is your young man likely to know that's a bet cheep for a fine piece of wizardware?"

"I'm hoping not." She slipped the salesman three Galleons and a few sickles as a tip.

"Very good Miss."

Rona went back out to tell Sev, "It's on sale." She was convincing. "Only a Galleon."

Snape's first reaction was, "What's wrong with it?" Sev knew more about the cost of things than Rona had guessed.

"Wrong?"

"That seems, too good to be true."

"Oh, the man said it had been in the shop for a long time. He'd like to get rid of it."

Snape took out his money and looked at it lying in his hand. "I shouldn't have bought that shake." He closed his palm around the coins.

"That was only a sickle," Rona said. "I could loan you a sickle."

Snape didn't look like he was going to agree. Rona emphasized, "Loan Severus, loan."

The Slytherin boy was staring at the suit in the window again. The salesman was standing near nodding his head as if to say, come on kid, buy it. "I guess it would be all right, this time."

All three kids were through the door in an instant. "He'll take it," Rona chirped out.

"Very good Miss." The salesman took down the black jacket-shirt and slacks. "Now which of you young fellows is this for?" Sev raised a hand indicating himself. "I don't even think it will have to be altered. Just you're size it seems." He pointed out a changing room as he handed the suit to the boy. "Go change in there."

When Severus Snape emerged from the changing room, it was indeed as if he had changed. He stood taller, looked more confident, and almost elegant. Except for the fact that he was still wearing his grungy work boots.

The salesman asked, "Will Sir be wanting the boots as well?"

Sev shook his head.

Ready to make more money, the salesman held them up. "Wouldn't be surprised if they were your size as well."

"I can't afford them. I'll take this though" Snape headed back to the changing room.

"Sir doesn't want to wear it back to the school?"

"No, Sir doesn't want to get it ruined."

The salesman took the hint and let the snarky boy change back. He did however turn to the girl. "Miss?"

"I can't really afford them either."

Xeno found himself stepping up to the plate. He couldn't believe it himself when he said, "I can."

"Xen?"

"Rona? Don't look so surprised, I can be nice too"

Rona went over and laid a huge kiss on his cheek. "You sure can."

The salesman looked a bit confused. Just which one of these lads was the girl's man?

"Quick," Xen said. "Wrap these up."

The salesman did as told and Xeno handed over another four Galleons. Then he tucked the wrapped boots under his arm. Both he and Rona wondered when the right time to give them to Sev would be. When Sev came out the salesman wrapped up the suit as well. Rona made up the difference and the three were off again.

"Where to now?" Corona asked.

Snape said, "Maybe I'll head back to the castle. I've spent all my money, and I think you two deserve some space."

"You don't have to go back," Rona told.

"But if it's want you want," Xeno put in.

"I think it'd be best."

"I hope you had fun today," Rona added.

"I did. Thanks guys." Snape turned to leave.

"Wait," Rona called after. "Where are we going to meet tomorrow? For the lesson?"

"I used to like to study under the beech tree - - "

"Then that's where we'll study. We're not going to let Potter and his toads stop us, are we?"

Snape's sneer-grin was on his face. "No, we're not." He turned to go again. "Have fun."

"Wait," this time it was Xeno who spoke. "Here take this?" He handed Sev the wrapped up boots.

"What's this?"

"Birthday present."

Snape looked incredulous. "My birthday isn't until January."

"Well then, it's a St. Ugo Givius day present."

"St. Ugo Givius?"

"Yes."

Snape didn't believe a word of it. He pulled back the corner of the paper to see that inside was what he thought was there, the boots. "You two are too much." Sev looked genuinely moved. "Thank you."

"Not us, St. Ugo Givius."

Severus had a huge smile all the way back to the castle. More than one time he shook his head and said, "St. Ugo Givius."

tbc

_Forgive me if I got the wiard money wrong. I messed up UK money in another story._


	7. Friend Or Foe

_Author's note, because I rated this K+ I have used bleeps in two places._

They Call Me chapter 7

Friend Or Foe

Snape had just started back to the castle when he saw two people he normally would be relieved to see. The look in their eyes made him wonder if it wasn't going to be a good encounter.

"So," Avery was the first to speak. "Hanging out with Ravenclaws now are we Snape?"

"For today," was Snape's answer. He kept walking.

Mulciber asked, "What's your game?"

"No game."

Both of the other Slytherin boys laughed. "Yhea right, no game."

We can help you pull what ever you're up to," Mulciber offered.

Snape reiterated, "I'm not up to anything."

Again Avery and Mulciber were snickering. "Yhea right. Not up to anything."

This trio kept walking back towards the school before Avery inquired, "You're really not going to tell us?"

"There's nothing to tell."

More chuckling and unison talk continued, "Nothing to tell?"

"Are you two going to repeat ever word I say?"

Snape's two cam padres stopped short. It gave the non-verbal response extra silence. They looked as if they were ready to be let in on what the joke was. And prepared to do whatever.

"Listen you two - - " Snape had his Slytherin face on. "Ms. Solaris and Mr. Lovegood are off limits. You got that?" His face had an extra deep sneer on it.

Avery nodded. Mulciber asked, "Or what?"

The look on Snape's face became menacing. "Don't think because those Gryffindor knobs happened to be faster than me, that I can't knock the snot out of you two."

"Touchy," Avery commented. "Trying to get into that Ravenclaw girl's skirt?"

Snape looked at his two pals with even more intensity. Before they knew it, they found their neckties snaking out towards each other then entwining in a knot. Then the ties pulled their necks together till they literally knocked heads a few times.

"Ouch," they complained.

They were released.

"That hurt," Mulciber declared as he rubbed his head where it had hit Avery's. He was too dumb to be mad. Avery was a bit more reflective. "You really aren't planning to do something to those Ravenclaws? Some of them are on their quiditch team."

"I didn't say anything about them. I said Solaris and Lovegood."

"Then why don't we plan something for their practice?"

"Yes," Snape thought out loud. "Why don't we?"

Before they had reached the Slytherin common room, Severus had already thought of what to do to interrupt the Ravenclaw's quiditch team's practice. It would be simple. Three simple ingredients would make their locker room a complete mess. It was something that required no magic and so couldn't be traced by checking of wands. Maybe they would get a two for; as the Ravenclaws might thing the Gryffindors had done it. That would be sweet.

When they actually reached the dorm, there was one other thing he had to do before anything else. In honor of Slytherin stick-togetherness, in the common room was posted a list of a few students from the other houses that were to receive special treatment, one column of those who were to be harassed and those who were to be left alone. To the leave alone side, Snape added Rona and Xeno's name. Not that they had ever been on any of the Slytherins' radar before, but now they would be protected by them, even from other houses. On the harass side, he made even darker the naming of **POTTER & HIS PATHETIC PALS**. Sirius' name also appeared on behalf of a few other Slytherin as well. They especially resented the Gryffindor Black. After taking care of that, he made a hasty retreat to the room he belonged to.

Going directly to the standing storage area next to his bed, he began to unwrap his new suit. Compared to the other boys' closets, Snape's was positively empty except for his school robes. Severus laid the new clothes out on his bed to admire them one more time before hanging them up. He thought his roommates were gone, so he was surprised to hear Rosier's voice. "Nice threads Snape." He recognized the wrappings. "Gladrags, fancy. You swipe it?"

Snape turned towards his fellow Slytherin and gave him a look worthy of being given to a Gryffindor. "I don't swipe things." The word swipe was said with particular loathing.

"You never have any money either. Lucius send it to you."

"Excuse me? Why would Malfoy be sending me clothes?"

"So that when you visit this summer, you'll actually look like a guest rather than - - " Something in Snape's eyes told Rosier that he had best stop teasing him. He still added, "You never can take a little ribbing can you Severus?"

Snape went back to ignoring the other boy, but Rosier kept asking, "So how did you acquire it."

"Believe it or not, I actually bought it." Snape grabbed a hanger out of his storage area and began hanging the suit on it.

"Where did you get eight Galleons?" Rosier fingered the cuff of the sleeve. "I guess that's about what this an those fancy boots cost."

Snape snatched the cuff out of Rosier's hand before snapping, "It wasn't that much. And why are you on my back today?"

"Just curious, in the five years I've known you, you have never, ever, had extra cash to spend. Didn't think you really cared about such things. You always dress like you came from the Salvation Army or something."

"For someone who's supposed to be a friend, you are coming close to getting your face hexed off."

"No need to get your shorts in a knot."

Snape's hackles went up. He was sure that Rosier was making a crack about what had happened to him the week before. He waited to hear what else his so-called friend would say.

"Wouldn't want to ruin the one pair you seem to have."

Snape was reaching for his wand.

"You embarrassed the entire house of Slytherin, letting those Gryffindors get the better of you. You have become an embarrassment and a disgrace to the name of Slytherin."

There it was, that was the reason Rosier had been avoiding him and was now ragging on him. Without saying anything Snape rounded on his fellow Slytherin and yelled out "Flipendo." Rosier flew back slamming into the wall then slumped down. He was totally unexpecting it. The thud called in several of the other students that were near by. Severus was now speaking through gritted teeth. "Let them get the better of me? LET THEM!" His wand was pointed at the prone boy. "Like you are letting me - - Let's see how funny you think this is, RICTUSEMPRA!" With each wave of Snape's wand, Rosier was ripped with tickles. Rosier was laughing, but it was obvious he was in pain. "Laugh it up Rosier."

It was Wilkes who tried to stop Snape. As he took his wand out, Snape said, "Don't even try it." Wilkes stowed his wand but begged Snape to stop. The commotion that this whole scene was causing brought even more of the Slytherin in. Out in the common room their head of household was asking what was going on in there.

"It's Snape Sir," one of them said. "He's gone completely ape (bleep) on Rosier."

Slughorn had his wand at the ready before he even went into the dorm room, in case Snape had really snapped this time. On entering he saw a hysterical Rosier and a maniacal Snape. The professor had planed on only disarming the boy but found himself shouting out, "Stupefy!" Snape flew back into the opposite wall and fell to the floor. "Oh dear," Slughorn said to himself. He wasn't sure which boy to go to first. "Mr. Rosier, you all right?" Rosier nodded. His friends were already helping him up. Snape's friends were standing around him, looking down in unbelief. Had Slughorn just knocked out a student? Slughorn rushed to Snape's side and began to wave some kind of leaves under his nose. "Wake up Mr. Snape." The professor began to feel the boy's head to make sure he hadn't cracked anything. When Severus began to regain consciousness he was groggy, but he could hear Slughorn asking, "What has gotten into you boy? You starting in on your own house mates now?"

Snape could see Slughorn kneeling next to him as almost the entire house looked on. Rosier stood above, pointing his finger at him, saying, "He's gone completely bonkers. He's a nutter I'm telling you."

"Shut up!" Snape managed to yell back.

"Take it easy lad," Slughorn tried to calm. "Why did you attack Mr. Rosier?"

"Because Mr. Rosier is a (BLEEP)."

Rosier jumped towards Snape. A look from Slughorn made him back off. "All right, all of you out. Go back to your own business." Everyone except Rosier left. "That includes you."

"This is my room too."

"I am well aware of that," Slughorn said. "Right now I want you to leave."

"Why so your little pet can tell you his side of the story and get me in trouble. I'm not leaving till I hear what he has to say."

Rosier knew Snape would never open up to Slughorn if he were still in the room. That was what he was hoping for. It was not going to be Rosier's day. Slughorn insisted, "Out Mr. Rosier."

Even after Rosier had left, Snape looked miserable. Slughorn stood and paced in front of the prone boy.

"You gave me your word," the professor said. "You were to be on your best behavior for the last two weeks of the term. If this is your best behavior, you are in serious trouble."

"Sir - - " Snape was always tongue tied in situations like this. "He, he - - "

"He what Mr. Snape? What could he have possibly have done for you to be hexing him here in the dorm?"

Snape did not want to confess what had made him blow his stack. He spat out the humiliating words, "He said I was an embarrassment and a disgrace to the name of Slytherin." He couldn't look Slughorn in the face.

"Lad," Slughorn spoke. "You have to learn to let words slip off your back. As mean as they were, they are just words."

"It wasn't because he said them," Snape admitted. "It's because I believed them."

"Really Severus, I don't know where this self loathing comes from. But it does not suit you well. Perhaps you should spend your summer at home working on that."

This made Snape laugh. Slughorn wasn't sure why one of his favorite students thought that was a funny statement.

"Sure Professor, at home, the perfect place for such a project." Snape chuckled again. "I'll make sure to do just that."

Slughorn looked past Severus' flippancy and asked, "Is there something you want to tell me Mr. Snape?"

"No Sir."

tbc


	8. ScrubaDub

They Call chapter 8

Scrub-a-Dub

Slughorn's hand was held out, "Come on lad, off the floor. I can't hold a proper conversation with you down there, now can I?" Snape reluctantly accepted the offered help to his feet. He was still a bit reluctant to look the head of his house in the face. "Have you ever heard the expression, sometimes the snake has to crawl through a bit of rubbish to get to the gold?"

"Can't say I have."

"It's a very old Slytherin saying. I'm sure you're bright enough to figure out what it means."

"I know Sir. It means a Slytherin will go through anything to win."

"Close enough."

"I'm sure things will be looking up for you."

Snape didn't want to disagree with Slughorn so he nodded even though he didn't believe it.

The professor continued, "I think I know part of why you've been acting the way you have been. It has nothing to do with Potter, it has nothing to do with home, it has to do with Miss. Evans' request to switch potions partners. I know you two have had somewhat of a falling out, correct?"

Snape did not answer the question, he mumbled, "She requested to switch - - " If he had looked miserable before, he looked even more pathetic now. "You didn't say anything about it in class."

"No," Slughorn admitted. "Because I had no intention of switching you so late in the term."

"But next year? In our N.E.W.T. classes?"

"I'm afraid if she still wishes it, I'll have to honor her request."

Severus had just heard the worst news he could have possibly had, even though they were not speaking, he could always see her, be close to her in potions class. Snape looked as if he were about to pass out, but Slughorn was too busy with his platitudes as he walked away to notice. "You try to put the last few weeks to rest. Start over again tomorrow." He was at the door when he finished up with, "Tomorrow is another day."

Severus had always liked Slughorn, but at that moment he thought the man was nothing but the biggest blow hard he had ever met. "Tomorrow is another day," he spat out. "Things will be looking up - - What a crock." The young wizard was still stung by what he had just learned. Lily had asked to be separated from him even in potions. How was he going to win her back if he wasn't near her? How could he obsessively nag her into accepting his apologies if - - " Severus couldn't think anymore, his brain just couldn't handle it. He managed to hang up his new suit and put the boots on the bottom of the storage area, then he just plopped face down onto his bed at an angle. His legs and one of his arms dangled over. Unable to sleep, unable to get up and do something, he lay like that for an hour eyes open not moving. It was only Mulciber coming in and shaking his bed that made Snape look up.

"Come on Snape, we've got a date with the Ravenclaw Eagles now don't we," the hulk of a boy asked the skinny one.

All else left Severus' mind. Playing the trick on the rival quiditch team became his focus. The look Snape was famous for was back on his face. "You and Avery get the hot water and the dish soap from the kitchens. I'll get the other ingredient from the potions stores."

"Slughorn going to let you - - "

"What Slughorn doesn't know, won't matter."

The three Syltherin pranksters met again down near the quiditch pitch. Because the last game was to be at the end of the term, the semi-finals were the next week. Because of that, each team were having two practices a day; Ravenclaw that day, Gryffindor the next day; their game being Tuesday. Then Hufflepuff's practice would be Thursday, Slytherin's Friday, and the game Saturday. The winners of these two games would play each other the next Wednesday for the championship and most likely the House Cup, two days before the end of term, and the end of year dance on Friday. Next Saturday they would all be back on the train home.

"You have it?" Snape asked his fellow plotters. He could see they did have the bucket of hot water, and he took the bottle of dish soap from the other adding it to the water. "How many house elves you have to wrangle for this?"

"I got it from one of my family's," Avery answered.

"Oh, good." Snape now took hold of the handle of the bucket and headed for the structure that held the four house's changing rooms. The other two then saw he was carrying a small bag of something else. "You two stay here and watch the fun."

Looking as inconspicuous as he could, Snape walked into the wrong changing room. He had timed it so the Ravenclaws would be arriving just as he activated the prank. The trick was going to be getting out without being seen or caught in the aftermath. The chemical reaction would be quick, so he'd have to be as fast getting out. If anyone asked what he was doing, he was going to clean up in the Slytherin changing room. The coast was completely clear. This was going to be all too easy.

Outside looking down from their hiding place in the trees, Avery and Mulciber looked on as the Ravenclaw quiditch team approached the door to their changing room. When Snape heard them coming in, he threw in the bag of smashed up dry ice he had been hanging onto and yelled out, "Potter, Black, don't do it!" He then ran out the opposite side of the changing room as it filled with a snowstorm of soapsuds. The entire room filled up and it oozed out of the doors covering the Ravenclaws who had just walked in.

Mulciber and Avery were nearly peeing their pants laughing while Snape was running as fast as he could around the other way. A few minutes later he was back with them watching the Ravenclaws looking befuddled and very soapy. The Slytherins were slapping each other on the backs.

"We better get out of here now," Snape recommended. "They'll know it was us if we're found anywhere near here."

They went back to the castle an out of the way rout to be sure they were not detected. Back at the Ravenclaw changing room they were furious. It was by complete accident that the marauders happened to be in the quiditch pitch at the time and one of the Ravenclaws saw them

"Potter, Black - - " That was what she had heard before the suds exploded. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to watch your practice," Black said. He wondered why the Ravenclaw was more hostile than ever towards them. Granted they were angry about the prank, but it wasn't them. "Didn't know we were going to see if you could ski as well."

"You're going to pay for this Black," another of the players said. "You too Potter."

"We had nothing to do with this."

"We'll see, we're going to tell Madam Hooch to check your wands."

"Sirius told you we had nothing to do with this," James argued. "It was still fun to watch, but we can't take credit for something that is not our handiwork."

Calls for Black and Potter to leave began raining down from the stands of Ravenclaws who had come to watch their team practice. "You're not even supposed to be here, you're on the Gryffindor team."

"Correction, only Potter is on the team now and he was going to leave," Lupin pointed out.

The other students began to throw food at them. The soap-covered team began to take handfuls of suds and smear it on the marauders. The marauders made a hasty retreat as they heard someone yell behind them, "You can expect Madam Hooch anytime now, so don't go trying to hide or fix up your wands!"

When they were well away the four friends laughed uncontrollably. "Who do you think did it?" James asked.

Sirius was the first to answer, "Couldn't have been Snivelly, it involved soap."

Again the four Gryffindors were laughing hysterically. When they stopped laughing Remus asked, "Do you think Hooch will think this serious enough to do a school wide wand search?"

"I suspect," Potter pondered, "Only the other teams."

"I still think it was Snivs," Peter was positive.

"No, no, no." James was shaking his head. "There's no way Snivellus got that close to soap."

"All joking aside," Lupin jumped in. "It does ring of Snape."

"Nothing involving soap rings of Snape," Black argued.

"But trying to make something look like we did it is."

"If it is," Potter concluded, "Hooch will find it in his wand."

They had no idea that there would be nothing to trace on any of the wands, and Snape had been cleaver enough to leave no indication that it had been him or any other Slytherin that had done it. The Gryffindor's had a motive, and his calling out of Potter and Black's names had planted the seed so deep in the Ravenclaws' minds, there was no way he was going to be caught.

tbc


	9. Dig Me Deeper

They Call ch. 9

Dig Me Deeper

That night all of the qudditch players and anyone connected with the teams of all four houses had a visit from the young teacher of broom flying. Madam Hooch checked all of their wands with the Prior Incantato spell. This could only reveal the last spell a wand had cast, but as all of them seemed to have cast the spells that the charms professor said they had done in the last classes the day before, she concluded she would not find the answer by this method. She thought it wasn't that serious a prank to ask the headmaster to perform Legilimens on all of them as well. 'No,' she thought. 'All I can do is hope someone slips up.'

After she had left the Slytherin common room, Rosier asked the others, "All right, which one of you did it?"

Thought they would be silent to other houses, or teachers, including Slughorn, Mulciber and Avery were perfectly willing to give Snape up to their fellow Slytherin. Both boys pointed directly at Severus. "We helped." Snape's eyes narrowed at his friends.

"Don't be mad at them Snape," Rosier said in a haughty voice. "May have redeemed yourself with this one. Though I wonder what your new Ravenclaw buddies will think of it."

"They aren't going to find out, now are they?" Snape knew the one thing to say that would make all of them keep their traps shut. "Slytherin solidarity." Severus held his fist out so the others could show their loyalty.

The others were half hearted in their oath in response; they struck their knuckles together with Snape's and repeated, "Slytherin solidarity."

"Your enthusiasm moves me," Snape sneered. He knew they would not tell anyone, that was all that counted.

"Want to raid the kitchens?" Mulciber always thought of his stomach. "Before it's too late."

Everyone except Snape seemed to be up for this idea. Being in the dungeons had some advantages. It was easier to sneak into the kitchens and scarf leftovers form the house elves. As the others made their way to do just that Snape told them, "I'm going to pass."

"More for us," Avery quipped.

It was not like Snape to pass up a kitchens raid especially this close to the end of term. One thing his Slytherin friends had always noticed was how Snape always bulked up before the end of the year and came back thinner than ever the next year. They never pushed the subject with him, not because they felt it wasn't their business, but because they just didn't care. After all Slytherins weren't know for their empathies. Their motto was get what you can get when you can get it, or as Severus himself had put it on numerous occasions, 'you snooze, you lose.' This time Sev said, "I choose to snooze."

In the morning Severus was up early. He was hungry but awake. The first thing he did after dressing, in his old things, was to lie out the ten clay tablets on his bed. He was trying to decide which ones to bring to Corona's lesson. He didn't know if it would insult her if he brought the easiest to read. She was a Ravenclaw after all. He came to the conclusion that the one with the most interesting spells would be best. "This one," he thought out loud. "And this one."

Each one he looked at had its merits. "And this as well." He figured he best stop at three. "Then again - - " One more was added to the 'take with' pile. The rest were stored back in his under the bed drawer. A growl came from Snape's stomach to remind him to go to breakfast. His fellow Slytherins, despite their tiredness, had already left for the great hall. With the four clay tablets tucked under his arm, Snape joined them.

At the Slytherin table, they always sat by pecking order. In the spot where his bunch always sat there was an envelope waiting. Whoever put it there was sure that it would reach its intended. That and the fact it had his name clear as day on it. Mulciber and Avery had been dying to know what it was, but hadn't touched it. "It was here when we arrived," Avery informed. Mulciber added, "Didn't come by owl."

This made Sev take a step back and hide behind his chair. The first thing he thought of was a trick. He looked at it from one side of the back of his chair, then the other side. Keeping the chair between him and the envelope was a precaution if it were to explode, or whatever the prank was. Nothing happened. Cautious as always Snape took out his wand. Not giving up his chair-shield he pointed to the mysterious envelope and said, "Divulge." Nothing happened.

"Maybe it's just a letter," Rosier suggested.

"Just what they want me to think." Snape waved his wand again. "Detonatio!" Still nothing. Severus concluded, "Maybe it is just a letter."

Slytherin eyes rolled.

Severus stood up strait and stowed his wand. The envelope was gingerly flipped. One side looked at, then the other. No magic seemed to be involved. Fingers pried open the seal. Still no magic was detected. The card was taken out of its encasement. Snape silently read the front. Some of the other Slytherin looked over his shoulder.

**'A greeting to show true feelings - - '**

Snape was sure it was a joke. Still, he felt compelled to open it to make sure it wasn't from Lily. When opened the card emitted a tune. It was not magic. It was muggle. The beeps and dashes ran together to play the melody of a song that none of the Slytherin recognized. Severus shrugged, he didn't get it either. His friends all looked puzzled. It was not until almost all of the Gryffindor table stood and began to sing to the tune:

_"Grey clouds are gonna clear up,_

_put on a happy face._

_Spread sunshine all over the place,_

_And put on a happy face."_

They kept repeating these same lines over and over. Snape was fumed. The singing continued. By the fourth time they had sung it, Snape turned towards the Gryffindors. The singers broke out laughing, the face of Snape was anything but happy. With a signal from whom else but James Potter, all in unison they said, "WE LOVE YOU SEVVY."

A classic Snape scowl stared back at them.

"AND I YOU," Severus snarled. "You want to see me spread something do you?"

They had expected to see a wand flying out of the Slytherin boy's robe. They were ready to counteract anything that might come their way. Instead of a spell, what flew at them was a large punch bowl full of pumpkin-butter meant for the toast.

A collective cry of, "Ugggg," flew up from the Gryffindor table. The Hufflepuff table got some of it as well. "Gross," they cried out before one of them added, "Good going grease ball."

A cacophony of young voices broke into an all out war of words; The Slytherin defending Snape; The Hufflepuff calling him all sorts of names; and the Gryffindors laughing their asses off.

"SILENCE!" The voice that silenced the arguing made Severus cringe. He knew he was in for it. The Headmaster was asking, "Who is responsible for this mess?"

Knowing that Dumbledore would not be pleased if they pointed out the culprit before giving him a chance to confess, the other students held their accusing fingers waiting to see what Snape would do. At first he looked as if he were just going to sit there where he had been, elbows on the table, his head sunk between his two hands. Slowly without turning Snape's hand slowly went up until it was high over his head. At least the boy was admitting it, hard not to with hundreds of witnesses.

"Come over here, Mr. Snape," the headmaster ordered.

The hunched figure of Severus walked over to where Dumbledore stood. "What have you got to say for yourself?"

Snape had to think. Should his answer be 'sorry' or 'they started it'? He chose a different tack. "What do you want me to say? I did it. I admit it. I have no excuse."

"You just decided it was a good day to dump pumpkin-butter all over the place?"

"Err, not exactly," slipped from Snape's mouth.

One of the Slytherin yelled out, "Why don't you tell him?"

"You're friends feel perhaps you were provoked Mr. Snape?"

"Doesn't matter," was mumbled. "Just give me my punishment."

Dumbledore knew the boy had been provoked. He also knew Severus had to learn to control his anger. Dumbledore could also see the gleeful looks on the faces of his beloved Gryffindors. He didn't like that either. "This is your lucky day Mr. Snape." Dumbledore took out his wand. "There will be no punishment." The headmaster waved his wand in a spiral over the students that had been pumkinized and spoke the spell, "mobiliarbus pumpkin-butter." The students had never seen this spell used on such small particles. The pumpkin-butter was gathered up off of everyone and held in a huge glob in the air. Dumbledore manipulated it over to where the empty bowl that had held it was and sloshed it down in it. "You can however, go throw that away." Snape was happy to move quickly. "After you apologize."

"Sorry," Severus mumbled.

"Sincerely."

Snape did his best to sound contrite through his gritted teeth, "I am sorry I dumped pumpkin-butter all over you."

Dumbledore knew that was as good as he could expect. He pointed to the bowl of unusable food. "Get going." As Severus moved as quickly as possible to get out of there, the headmaster turned to the Gryffindor table. "Your behavior of late, is making me ashamed to be a Gryffindor." This was all he said. It was all he needed to say. Perhaps the marauders were unmoved, but many other Gryffindors were not. Teasing the little git seemed sensible before Dumbledore said his say. Now it seemed rather pathetic. One of the seventh years voiced, "Do you think he means it?"

Another one concluded, "He means it."

tbc


	10. Letters

_I tried to reprisent the cueform letters, but it wouldn't translate over to the site._

They Call chapter 10

Letters

The punchbowl of pumpkin-butter seemed heavier now that he had to carry it out of the great hall. Snape hadn't realized how big it was until he was heading through the door. He had been loosing his footing even before he caught sight of Lily going in to breakfast. "Lily," he instinctively called to her.

Lily looked up from what she had been reading. All it took was that look from Lily to make the punchbowl slip from Severus' uncertain grip. It only took seconds before the bowl was on the floor. Snape had saved it from shattering, but he had not saved himself from landing inside of it in a sitting position. Only someone as skinny as he was would have fit.

"Honestly Severus," Lily groaned. She kept on walking towards the tables. Severus struggled to his feet; he wasn't too upset; Lily had called him by his first name, something she hadn't done all week. That did not change the fact that he now had a backside covered in pumpkin-butter.

"This doesn't seem to be your day Severus," Dumbledore stated the obvious. The headmaster used a cleaning spell on Snape and the floor before adding, "I did not say you had to physically carry it, I just said get rid of it."

"Right Headmaster." Snape took out his wand and levitated the punchbowl to the kitchens where despite the displeasure of the house elves, he dumped it down a drain.

"Why'd you do that?" A particularly old elf asked.

Snape informed, " It's not edible. It was all over people, and I sat in it."

"What makes that inedible?"

"I'd hate to see what you lot eat."

Snape hurried back up to the Slytherin table to collect the clay tablets and get a bite to eat himself. His interest in food had waned so he was happy with a few pieces of toast which he took along outside.

When Severus had left the castle he had no qualms about meeting Corona at the beech tree. The closer he got to said tree, the more anxiety began to grip him. Though he had just seen them in the great hall, he looked in every conceivable place where a marauder might be hiding. He made sure there was no gang of girls down by the lake. It was Sunday morning after all, who would be out there this early. All was in the clear, but Snape's palms were beginning to sweat. "Oh come on," he berated himself. 'Like Corona said, I'm not going to let what they did stop me.' He had now become resolute and took determined steps to reach the meeting place. He rounded the tree surprised to see his pupil already there, waiting.

"Hi Severus!" Corona was like a ray of sunshine.

"Hi Corona," Snape said while taking his place on the root next to the girl.

"It's a gorgeous morning."

Severus looked up at the sky, which had eluded his sight till then. "Yes it is."

The boy was caught off guard when the girl asked, "Did you hear about what happened at the quidditch pitch yesterday evening?"

When Corona asked this, Severus stiffened. 'Does she know? Will she be mad?' He thought, before he said, "Yes, I heard."

"Did you know that half of the Ravenclaw House is betting James Potter did it? The other half - - is betting on - - you."

"I'd bet on Potter," Snape said with a laugh in his voice. Then he questioned, "No one thinks there could be a third party?"

"That's exactly what Xen thinks. It's a Hufflepuff conspiracy to get the other houses arguing about it. He's going to investigate."

"Investigate?"

"Well yhea. If Madam Hooch inspected all of your wands, and found nothing, it's a fair conclusion it's a Hufflepuff."

"Hufflepuff," Snape sputtered. "Does he really think the House of Fluffy would come up with - - " Severus did not finish his question.

"Or someone didn't use magic."

"Not use magic?" Snape sounded convincing.

"It would have to be someone that was good with substances."

"You think?" There might have been a small chink in Severus' armor at this point, his smugness.

Corona was still off on her own tangent. "It would take someone very clever to know how to make all those suds just explode out of the room without magic.

"They didn't quite explode," Snape let slip. 'Dang, why did I say that?'

"They didn't?"

"Or so I've heard."

"You know - - " Rona cocked her head as she spoke. "Some practical jokes, are just that; Jokes. You know ones that don't hurt people. Although, the team's equipment and uniforms weren't in great shape.

"I suppose they'd like to get their hands on whoever done it?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Severus looked a bit nervous before he remarked, "I suppose."

Corona got the distinct feeling Severus would like to change the subject. She asked, "Shall we begin our lesson?"

"Yhea." Snape rummaged in his book bag for a piece of parchment. "I'd like to put some things down on here before looking at the tablets." He rummaged some more for a sort of stamp thing that he had devised to write in cuneiform. There was also an inkpad. Sev dug down the bottom to find it. He scooted closer to Corona so she could see the parchment. "The tablets are primarily used for record keeping. It's mostly lists and numbers not real sentences. You have to figure out the spells a bit for yourself." He began to stamp out patterns for numbers. They were fairly obvious.

! one !! two !!! three

Other things like foxglove, were more complicated.

"I think I've got it," Corona said.

Snape took out one of the clay tablets. "Let's see if you can figure this one out." His finger traced a small portion of the tablet.

Just as Rona was reading her first sentence, an owl flew by and dropped a letter at Sev's feet. He rolled his eyes ignoring it.

"Aren't you going to read it?" Rona asked.

"It's probably another joke," Sev responded.

"Joke?"

"I got a card that was a joke this morning."

"This one might not be."

"I don't get owl; Ever."

"Your parents don't write to you?" Corona could tell by the look on Severus' face that she had hit on a sore subject.

All Snape said was, "No."

To anyone else Snape would have come up with some kind of cock-and-bull story that would have involved his parents being off in some distant exotic country on some grand adventure of the utmost secrecy. He'd never be able to tell even Corona the truth, but he found it hard to lie to her. Only one other student knew the truth about his parents, and only the headmaster knew the whole truth. Lily and Dumbledore knew Snape's secrets. He wasn't about to let anyone else know them.

"Maybe you should read it," Corona suggested. "You never know."

Feeling that Rona might next ask to open it herself if he didn't, Severus did. It was not a joke. The change in Severus told Corona it was not good news either. What almost looked like a veil crossed the boy's continence. Only a very good reader of people would have been able to tell anything was wrong as for a few minutes Severus reread the letter. Then he broke his mask like face's stillness. His brow furrowed as he hissed out a, "No - - "

Corona watched as her friend's face began to twitch. It was obvious to her that boy was holding back tears. She supposed being called Snivs, Snivelly, and Snivellus for five years, as she had recently learned, made Snape good at holding back. That was true, he'd never cry in front of anyone.

Just because Snape didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, didn't mean he didn't have one. In fact his emotions ran deeper than anyone suspected. Solaris was one of the rare people of magic who could see that deep. She could tell something very heavy had just hit Snape. What she couldn't read the details. It was not Legimency she used. It was a strong empathetic skill. It was almost as if Severus and Corona were polar opposites, yet at the same time fit like twins; like the eastern symbol of yin and yang; Dark and light, thinking and feeling, balancing each other.

"Severus?" Rona intoned. She gave the lightest touch to his arm. He flinched but settled down. She asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's from - - " He wouldn't say who, " - - a relative. It's about my, Mum. She's - - " He couldn't tell her the whole truth. " - - hasn't been well for a long time. She's taken a turn for the worse. She's at St. Mungos."

"Oh no," Corona said in sympathy. "Should you go see her?"

"It's not a matter of should I; it's can I."

"I'm sure the headmaster would help."

Snape rubbed one of his eyes with the palm of his hand trying to clear his thoughts. This had to be the worst year of his life. Everything had gone wrong this year. He spoke about all things, "Exams." He kept rubbing a spot on his forehead between his eyes.

"Listen," Rona took charge. "We're going to see someone, be it Dumbledore, Slughorn, or who ever can get you to see your mother and not have you worried about a stupid test."

'Stupid test?' Snape wondered. Did Corona know how important it was to him to get strait O's and go on to N.E.W.T. classes? Did she understand his obsessive thirst to know, everything? Did she know how deep the need to prove himself worthy of his place in the wizarding world was? She may not have known that, but she knew what was truly important.

tbc


	11. Nothing's Easy

They Call chapter 11

Nothing's Easy

The first person Corona could think to go to for help was the head of her own household. Professor Flitwick was a late riser on Sundays, so he was just arriving in the great hall and heading for the staff table for his breakfast. As he climbed up into his chair, he saw Corona and Severus heading for him. He had a feeling his breakfast was going to be delayed when Corona called out to him, "Professor Flitwick."

"Yes Miss. Solaris?"

"My friend," Corona knew that Flitwick knew Severus. He was not in her charms class, but she figured he had to be in one of them. "Mr. Snape needs to get to London."

The Professor asked, "And that is my concern because?"

"Because he needs help and I didn't know who else to go to."

Flitwick turned to Severus and asked, "Mr. Snape, why do you need help getting to London, students aren't allowed to just pop off to London."

"I'm sorry we shouldn't have bothered you." Severus didn't want to explain. He was already making a retreat.

Corona looked at Severus as if to say, 'where are you going?' But she didn't say it. She was too busy explaining to the head Ravenclaw. "We know that, that's why we came to you. Severus got a letter today, about his Mother being in St. Mungo's."

The charms professor stood as if he'd been set on fire. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"You didn't give us a chance," Severus put in.

A momentary cross look came from Flitwick. He knew Snape well enough to know he wasn't trying to be disrespectful, he just was. "If what Miss. Solaris says is true, we will go to the headmaster and make arrangements." The petite teacher took out his wand, twirling it in the air as he said, "Locate Dumbledore."

A disembodied voice that sounded like the headmaster's said, "I am in my study. Tell the gargoyle you like mint grasshoppers."

The trio headed for Dumbledore's study. Flitwick said the password and they climbed the stairs. The headmaster appeared to be ready for them. "So Severus, come to tell me something?"

This was not what Snape had expected to hear. Dumbledore thought the head of Ravenclaw House had discovered who had soaped their changing room. Normally these would have been no other reason for him to be in the company of a Ravenclaw student and Professor Flitwick. Dumbledore could see the trapped look on Snape's face; the boy knew he'd been caught. The other two didn't seem to reflect the same purpose.

"Miss. Solaris," Dumbledore addressed. "You don't play quidditch, do you?"

"No Sir, I don't even watch - - " Corona looked perplexed. "What has that to do with - - " The bright girl understood, her new friend was the one she should bet on. Her boyfriend, Xeno, was off on a wild goose chase or rather a snipe hunt. The culprit had been right under her nose. A flash of feeling foolish ran through her, she still didn't think it was the time or place to start shouting about it.

"Filius, you've come here for a reason other than the one I thought you had."

Flitwick asked, "What did you think we were here for?"

Severus was waiting for Dumbledore to spill the beans. The headmaster would tell the head of Ravenclaw and he'd be in detention for the remainder of the year.

"Can we talk about what we did come here for," Corona was again covering for Snape. The matter at hand seemed more important. "Severus has to get to St. Mungo's."

Dumbledore looked at Snape. "He seems fine to me."

Severus managed to say, "It's my mother."

This was all the young man had to say. All else became unimportant to the headmaster. "Follow me," Dumbledore ordered. "We're going right now."

Snape followed Dumbledore. The latter asked, "Would you like your friend to accompany us?"

Severus looked to Corona, he did trust her, but he didn't want anyone to know about anything to do with his home life.

Rona sensing Sev's conflict said, "It's all right if you want to see her alone." For some reason she leaned in close to whisper, "I've heard that confession is food for the soul." She looked towards Dumbledore hoping Severus might have time to talk to the headmaster about the other matter sometime soon. "I hope your mother is doing better."

"Thanks," Sev said to his friend before following the headmaster out of the study. Then he and Dumbledore were bustling towards the gates to reach the headmaster's favorite place of apparation.

"Take hold of my sleeve if you will Mr. Snape."

Severus did as Dumbledore bid him, and in a few seconds later they were in London. They arrived just inside the visitor's lobby of St. Mungo's hospital for magical mishaps. Most of the staff was familiar with the professor.

"Professor Dumbledore," a woman in a white coat greeted. "Another accident at Hogwarts?"

"No Healer Burnbott," Dumbledore informed. "The mother of one of my students is here. We'd like to see her."

The healer snapped her fingers and a parchment full of names appeared in her hand. "Her name is?"

"Eileen Snape," both told her.

"Oh - - " the healer paused.

Severus thought the worst. His heart leapt into his throat. Until the healer continued, "She's not in good condition, and is placed in a restricted ward."

"Even more reason the boy should see her."

"Yes, follow me." Healer Burnbott led them up staircases and down hallways till they came to a door where a gristly looking man guarding it.

"Hello Jake."

"Hello Healer Burnbott. Nice day isn't it?"

Snape focused on the huge scar running down Jake's face. He wouldn't want to meet this man in a dark alley.

Healer Burnbott exchanged niceties, "Indeed it is. Can you open up the ward for us?"

Jake nodded and took out a set of keys. He searched for the one that fit the door. When it was opened the door proved to be at least a foot thick. Gringotts couldn't ask for a heavier door. The healer walked in, the visitors followed her down an extremely long corridor lined with rooms. A quarter of the way down she took out her wand and opened the room's door. She walked in. Dumbledore motioned to Severus that he should enter first.

Severus did not believe what he saw. Sitting next to his mother's bed was - - "What is he doing here!" Snape shouted at his father, "You don't belong here!"

"Because this is a wizard's hospital?" Tobias Snape glared at his son.

"Because you're the reason she's here!"

Dumbledore had the back of Severus' tee shirt collar. It was not difficult to restrain the boy.

"GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" Severus continued to protest.

"All of you go into the hall," Burnbott ordered fearing the disturbing of the patient.

"I have every right to be here with my wife," Toby argued, but he went out with the others. He saw the loathing in his son's eyes. "You best show some respect boy. Don't forget I am your father."

"I wish I could forget that."

Tobias raised his hand to strike. Dumbledore pulled Severus out of the way, blocking him from Toby. "Mr.Snape!"

"Professor Dumbledore." Tobias said as if the name were poison. "You're all the boy used to talk about. Professor Dumbdoors this, Professor Dumbdoors that." Toby looked at the head master with a sneering grin. "Think I don't know why he stopped worshiping you? I hear that you let your pet students do what you just stopped me from doing."

"I do not want my student to as you say, worship me. Your son has over the years been involved in a number of schoolboy fights that have unfortunately evolved into all out bullying. I do not allow anyone to strike your son in my presence. That includes you. If I had the authority to get him away from you - - "

"But you don't, do you?" Toby gloated. "You're precious Ministry of Magic won't let you retaliate against my kind, will they?"

"That won't stop me!" Severus yelled out as his wand appeared aiming at his father.

"Young man," Healer Burnbott reprimanded. "This is a hospital."

"Severus," Dumbledore calmed. "Don't be foolish."

The boy's breathing slowed, and he seemed to calm down. Then he announced, "I'm not staying here while he's here!"

"Then you'll be waiting a long time to return," Toby dug in.

"Mr. Snape," the healer spoke up. "Professor Dumbledore has brought your son all the way from Hogwarts. Under the circumstances, I'm going to ask you to leave for a half an hour to let him see his mother, without you here."

Toby took the hint. He would not cross people in authority. He turned one more time to torment his son. "You'll be home in a little while boy. And Dumbdoors won't be there to help you then."

"Get out of here," Dumbledore ordered.

Severus gave a confused and embarrassed glance before going into his mother's room. He went to his mother's side, making sure not to kneel near where he had seen his father sitting. He moved a stray piece of hair out of her face. This woke her, none of the screaming had, but her son's touch did. Through blurry eyes she saw her son. "Severus?"

"Yes Mum, it's is me. I'm here."

"I thought I heard you arguing with your father."

"Don't worry about that, he's left."

"He left?" Eileen actually sounded disappointed.

"What happened?" Sev interrogated, "Did he - - "

"No Sev. It wasn't Toby. I tried to - - I tried to do magic again."

A shiver went down Snape's spine. He knew what that meant. "You know you're not supposed - - " Severus stopped his reprimand midway.

"I'm a fully trained witch," Eileen muttered. "Why shouldn't I do magic?"

"Because of the curse - - " Sev knew she'd forgotten again. "Mum, the healer is only letting me stay a short while. Let's not talk about such things; no problems. I just want to spend that time with you."

Eileen seemed to accept this. She perked up, "I see you have your book bag." He'd forgotten all about it. "What are you studying?"

"Oh," Sev took out one of the tablets. "These were just for fun. I was shoeing a friend how to read them."

"A friend?" She knew her son didn't have many friends.

"Yhea Mum, a friend." Snape hoped when he returned to Hogwarts he still had that friend. "She's really - - a sweet kid."

"She?" A smile crossed Eileen's face.

"No Mum, not like that. You know I only - - " He didn't want to talk about Lily either. Eileen didn't know that they were not friends anymore.

"So tell me more about your - - friend."

Severus began to wonder why his mother was in a locked ward. She seemed like her old self as far as her grip on reality. He'd have to ask the healer later.

"She's a Ravenclaw. She likes books almost as much as I do. I guess I'm friends with her boyfriend too. He's nice, but I have a feeling he likes to be a bit snoopy.

"And your exams?" the mother questioned.

"Fine. You know that. They're easy."

"Easy?" This made Eileen laugh. "I'm not sure anyone buy my Sevvy could call O.W.L. exams easy."

The time spent at his mother's bedside was all too short. The healer returned insisting that Mrs. Snape needed her rest. As well as she may have seemed, she was a very ill woman. Burnbott also informed that the healers in charge of her case felt she was well enough to be moved to a regular room the next day. This made Sev feel better. Seeing his father outside the room infuriated him.

"Let's go Severus," Dumbledore beaconed. "We must be getting back. You'll be able to see her again soon. I'll make sure of that."

The confusion in Severus' head was giving him a headache. He still thanked the headmaster for bringing him to see his mother. The last thing Corona had said to him reached through the fog he was in. "Headmaster - - "

"Yes Severus?"

"I - - "

"Yes Severus?"

"I did what you think I did."

"And what do I think you did?" Dumbledore wasn't going to make this easy.

"Sir, I'm the one who soaped the Ravenclaw team's changing room."

"Of course you were; Very ingenious, non-magical chemical reaction. If you could use your skills for something more useful, you could be quite a great wizard."

Snape smiled until Dumbledore added, "A hundred points from Slytherin."

That smile disappeared. Still, it could have been worse.

tbc

_I didn't go into details about Eileen's ailment, because that is going to be delt with in Wonderful, and even more in the follow up to this story. _


	12. Some Get Kisses, Some Get Tears

They Call chapter 12

Some Get Kisses, Some Get Tears

Back at Hogwarts, Corona was walking around trying to make heads or tails of the one tablet that Severus had forgotten to take back. She wasn't even sure if she were looking at the thing the right way up. She looked in her copy of 'First Spells' to see if she could impress Snape by having it translated by the time he returned. As she was reading and not looking where she was going she bumped into someone she didn't know well but she recognized.

"Oh I' sorry," Corona apologized. When she saw the girl she had walked into she asked, "Are you Lily Evans?"

"Yes, I am," Lily answered. "Do I know you?"

"No, I'm not in any of your classes." Rona then introduced herself, "I'm Corona Solaris. I'm in Ravenclaw."

"Oh - - " realization came to Lily. She knew the name if not the face. "I wondered if I'd ever meet you, so I can warn you personally."

"Warn me?"

"I've heard that you've started hanging around - - Snape." Lily had been refusing to call her old friend by his first name. She had earlier only by a slip on her part. She was still furious at him and could not find an inch of pardon in her heart for him. Corona thought this was rather fast as she had only been in Snape's company one day previous. "If I were you, I'd stay clear of him."

The Ravenclaw girl tried to be diplomatic, but it was difficult. "Well, you're not me, are you?"

"You don't know him."

"Apparently, neither do you."

Lily was struck by this statement. If anyone knew Severus Snape, it was Lily Evans. "You keep on believing that. Just be prepared when he turns on you."

"Is that how little you think of him?"

"I try to think of him as little as possible."

"Do you know what he thinks of you?"

"I have a fairly clear indication of how he feels about me. He thinks I'm a filthy mudblood. Maybe you don't need to worry, being a pureblood, he deems your friendship worthy of his."

"Wow, have you got a chip on your shoulder," Corona had said this mostly to herself.

Lily still responded. "I'm sure a pureblood like you can't imagine how being called that feels."

"No, but I know how Severus feels."

"Do you?" Lily's contempt was palatable.

Corona wasn't sure if she should say how she and Snape had met; with him ready to jump from Ravenclaw tower over the loss of his friendship with the girl who stood before her now. "Miss. Evans, I don't want to argue with you. Right now I have chosen to be a friend to Severus. It has nothing to do with you. You needn't warn me."

"If you want a friend like him, good luck to you."

"I know Severus isn't perfect. I don't expect him, or anyone, to be. If you only knew how much you've hurt him."

"Me? Hurt him?" Lily couldn't believe her ears. "I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be intelligent."

"Okay," Corona got her hackles up. "If that's the way you're going to be, this discussion is over." Solaris had had enough of this Gryffindor's self-righteousness. It was clear to her that yes Severus was a damaged person. That didn't mean he didn't deserve some decent friends. She thought that there must have been another side to Lily Evans, because at that point, Corona couldn't understand what Snape saw in the girl.

"When Snape throws you under the bus," Lily called after Rona as she went on her way. "You'll wish you'd listened to me."

Corona thought to herself, 'And I thought Sev had issues.' She then saw someone that made her heart skip a beat. "Xeno," she called out to the boy who was following a group of Hufflepuffs as he hid behind a copy of the Daily Prophet. Xen halted his tailing of potential prank suspects to go to his girlfriend.

"Hi Rona." Xenophillius gave Corona a smooch. "Bad timing. I thought one of them was close to confessing."

Corona cleared her throat. "I don't think you need to worry about the Hufflepuffs anymore."

"Has the culprit been found? Who's behind it?"

"I think a declaration of guilt may be in the process as we speak."

"By who?"

"Our new friend."

"Oooh - - " Xen looked disappointed. "I was trying to exonerate him. Do I look foolish? Oh well."

"Your heart was in the right place."

"Why did he do it?"

"I think it had something to do with what they said at the Three Broomsticks, and trying to impress other Slytherin."

Xeno seemed to be taking the news rather well. "That gives me more time to look into my other project."

Knowing that Lovegood would have more than one pet project. She asked, "Which one?"

"The one about the rumor that some of our very own fellow students here at Hogwarts are thinking about joining up with you know who." He informed, "You know there are some who just graduated that already have the dark mark."

"How do you know that?" Rona wondered. "Aren't they very secretive about who exactly are death eaters?"

"Yes they are, but there are some kids here whose mums and dads are known followers of - - you know who. One of them has spoken to me in the strictest of confidences."

"So sad," Rona mused. "It must be difficult for them."

"Difficult - - for them?" Xeno looked incredulous. "You worry me sometimes. How can you be so sympathetic?"

"You're the one off interviewing potential death eaters."

"Not sympathetically." Xen remembered something at that moment. "I thought you were supposed to be meeting Severus for that rune lesson?"

"They're not runes," Rona pointed out. "I did, but some thing came up and Sev had to go somewhere."

Being an inquisitive person made Xeno ask further, "What could possibly tear anyone from your company?"

This made Corona giggle at first. "Not everyone is as enamored of me as you."

"That's good."

"Do I detect a glimmer of jealousy Lovegood?"

"If it were anyone but you Solaris. Sooooo - - Why don't you want to tell me why Snape took off in the middle of your rune lesson?"

"They're not runes," Rona reiterated. "I'm not sure if it's my place to tell."

"It's me Rona."

The young lady had to think about that statement. Xeno was good at finding people's secrets; he wasn't as good at keeping them. Still if she swore him to secrecy, it might be safe. In her deep understanding of people she realized that Severus was an extremely private person.

"Come on Solaris, spill the beans."

"If I do, you have to keep it to yourself. I can't loose Severus' trust."

At this point a bit of Xeno's good nature faded. "Why does that matter to you so much?"

"Did you forget what I told you? About how I met him?"

Now Xeno was feeling a bit embarrassed. He had forgotten that Rona had been at the right place at the right time to stop the Slytherin boy from doing himself a great harm. "Oh yhea - - "

Rona's voice held teasing in it, "Oh yhea, what a response." She gave him a playful hip check. "I was so proud of you yesterday, don't go all jealous boyfriend on me now."

"I wouldn't tell anyone anything. I actually think the kid isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be."

Part of this statement pleased the girl; another part disturbed her. "Who makes him out to be bad?"

A hard swallow stuck in the boy's throat. "I hate to say, but, quite a few people. Not just those Gryffindor boys that hang around with Potter."

"People who I bet have never even met him. Or barely know him."

"I wasn't taking statistics. We barely know him either. After all he did pull that prank on the qudditch team."

"Making soap ooze all over the changing room can hardly be categorized as bad."

"I've heard some other things over the years."

"How is it that I never heard any of these things?"

"Because you're too sweet to listen to rumors." Xeno placed a gentle kiss on Rona's forehead, and the two began to embrace into a cuddle.

"Using flattery to get me to talk," Corona teased. "Severus is a very troubled young man. I don't think things are going to get easier for him. I don't know why I feel so compelled to be there for him right now, but I do."

"I know why." Xeno looked reflective, he almost didn't want to remind Rona of something. "Thalion."

Rona looked at the ground. She looked sad, yet she was thinking of someone warmly. "Thalion - - of course. How could I have missed that?"

"I don't think you did, not really."

"You can be sweet yourself, can't you?" Rona kissed Xeno a little bit more intently.

"Sweet enough for you to tell me why Severus had to cut your lesson short?"

"If I tell you and you go blabbing, I'll never forgive you."

"Then you know my lips are as good as super glued together."

"It's Severus' mother. He got a letter this morning that she's at St. Mungo's. Professor Dumbledore took him to see her. It sounded serious."

Xeno now felt even worse at having felt the twinge of jealousy that he had. "Poor kid." Despite his sympathy for Snape, Lovegood's mind was focused on Solaris. His attentions towards her became more intense as well. They were in quite a long kiss when someone rudely yelled out, "Why don't you two get a room."

The two young people's lips parted and they became aware they were in a fairly public place. They had no intentions of going to need a room, but they became self-conscious of their make out moves being observed. Xeno suggested, "Why don't we take a walk around the cove?" His eyebrows made a suggestive motion.

"I think a walk would be a lovely idea," Rona agreed. The two young sweethearts clasped each other's hands and strolled towards the lake.

On a tall hill above the lake, woodland animals were disturbed by a loud popping sound. It was two wizards returning from St. Mungo's. This was a little further away from the castle than Severus expected Dumbledore to bring them. The boy hissed, "What's this?"

"I thought you might not be ready to face your fellow students quite so quickly," the headmaster told. "This is an excellent place to have a good cry if one needs."

"Cry? What makes you think I need a good cry?" Severus was cross.

"No one will see you here."

"Don't - - " Severus rounded on Dumbledore, but stopped himself. Snape could never understand how one minute he felt grateful for something Dumbledore had done, then the next he wanted to spit at him. "I am not a child anymore. I don't cry."

"One doesn't need to be a child to cry. And I know better."

"Do you?"

"If you keep all of the emotions that are boiling up in you inside, you will explode."

Severus picked a tree branch up off the floor of the woods. "I don't need to cry." Instead of crying, Severus had grown into the habit of becoming angry. Shaking the branch in his hand he declared, "I'm not a weakling!" The enraged boy promptly began, in lieu of the headmaster, bashing the nearest tree with the branch he had picked up. A series of blows followed. "I - - " Whack. "AM - - " Whack. "NOT" Whack. "WEAK!" Whack, whack, whack! The branch crumbled so the boy began punching the tree with his fists. The sharp bark tore the skin before the boy realized. Blood began to show on Severus' knuckles.

Dumbledore grabbed Severus by the wrists. "That's quite enough Mr. Snape. You're going to hurt yourself."

This time Severus managed to break free of the older wizard's grip. He looked like a cornered beast. "What do you care!"

"Despite what you believe, I care." Dumbledore's wand was produced and a healing spell that stopped the bleeding of Snape's hands was produced. "I care about all of my students."

"Some more than others," Snape snapped back.

"Please don't say that Severus." The old wizard understood the younger ones anger. He was not offended and didn't say anything like, 'haven't I proven otherwise today.' Instead he advised, "I assure you, a good cry works much better than beating up on trees."

Defenses gave way. Snape could no longer hold back the flood that had been held back by he dam of anger. It was mostly for his mother that the tears came forth, though some came from all the stress of school and his schoolmates as well. Severus feel to his knees, sitting back on his heals as he let loose all of the pent up feelings. What Potter had done, Lily's words; all mingled together with the other feelings to create an agonizing wail from the young wizard. Dumbledore stepped closer intending to offer a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. What he would have done for anyone in such pain. Severus held his hand up in a halting signal. He may have felt safe enough to cry in the headmaster's presence, but going as far as caring contact was too much. This too Dumbledore understood. It would not have comforted Severus anyway; the boy's father had beaten a fear of physical contact into him. The headmaster rebuked himself silently for almost forgetting that.

When the boy regained his composure, Dumbledore conjured a washcloth appropriately filled with cold water. "Wipe your face, I'm sure you don't want to look flush when you return to the castle."

He was right about that, Snape didn't want to look like he had shed a single tear never mind the torrent that he had just produced. He did as Dumbledore had suggested. He could feel the heat leaving his face. He said nothing as the older wizard made the towel disappear. When Dumbledore asked, "Are you ready to go back?" Snape nodded. He still could not bring himself to speak. He hated letting anyone, even the headmaster see him in such a vulnerable state. He was dizzy from the experience. The silent walk back to the castle brought his normal unreadable continence back to Snape.

At the gates Dumbledore asked one more time, "You will be alright?"

If he wasn't, there wasn't much he could do about it now. Severus nodded once more. He knew what was awaiting him inside of the castle. Confession may have been good for the soul, but he was sure his fellow Slytherins would not see it that way.

tbc


	13. Friends

They Call chapter 13

Friends

By the time that Corona and Xenophillius had come back from the lakeside, the entire school knew that Snape had lost a hundred points from Slytherin because he admitted to the headmaster that he was indeed the prankster. The Ravenclaws were in the middle of declaring war on Severus Snape when his two friends walked into their common room.

"We have to get back at him," it was Tristian one of the Ravenclaw beater who spoke. "Little git is going to get it."

"It should be something really nasty," Lloyd their keeper added.

"Maybe we should shampoo his hair," Sasha the chaser put.

"Maybe you should leave him alone," Corona bravely spoke up. "Honestly, it was just a joke."

"Did you know he was going to do it?" Her friend Freeda turned to imply.

"Of course not. If I had I would have tried to dissuade him. As I will try to dissuade you."

"Hey, Lovegood," Tristian taunted. "Aren't you concerned that your girlfriend is chumming up with that Slytherin slime ball?"

It wasn't as if Xeno had no concerns about Rona new found friendship with someone who was not thought of very well. But he had yet to see any reason why people should think so badly of Snape. Being different wasn't a crime the last time he checked. If it were, he would be in trouble. "You are all acting like some great crime has taken place. All the kid did was get you all a little wet and soapy, and here you are practically calling for his head."

"Just the part with hair on it," Sasha stated. "Maybe we could shave his head then he wouldn't have to worry about shampoo at all."

Tristian seemed all for this plan. "Sounds good, we'll grab him and you can have a go at that greasy mess with something you think might cut through it."

"It will be really cooling for the summer," Lloyd added.

"STOP IT!" Corona shouted out. "We are Ravenclaws, not Gryffindors."

The Quiddich team didn't seem to be moved, but the rest of the house was. They were looking at the floor as she continued, "A joke is one thing, but what you're talking about is just plain cruel."

Then Xeno made her proud. "You say I should be worried about Rona being friends with Snape; what I just heard Sasha and Tristian say makes me wonder if they're not the on I should be concerned she's friends with."

Sasha went pale. "How can you say that?"

"Because you look an awful lot like your ready to lead a mob to go do something that is going to give Ravenclaw house as bad a name as Slytherin. Whom you seem to think of as fairly awful."

"Don't you think we should do something to get back at him?"

"He's already had a hundred points lost for his house. How do you think they're going to treat him the next few weeks?"

On thinking about this, even the quidditch team seemed to think that Snape was going to be punished enough.

Corona wanted to make sure they would not do anything mean to her friend. She made them promise to leave Snape alone. "You should be more concerned with beating Gryffindor, the game is only two days away."

Freeda asked, "Since when do you care about quidditch?"

"Never said I did."

With that the mob dispersed and Severus' neck, or rather his hair was safe again; at least from the Ravenclaws.

"I can't believe you," Rosier paced up and down in front of Snape and the other Slytherins that had gathered in their common room. Again Snape's friend was berating him. "You make us swear not to tell on Slytherin solidarity, then you go and tell Dumbledore yourself."

"I couldn't help it," Severus explained. "He had just taken me to see my mother at St. Mungo's and I had a fit of honesty."

"A fit of honesty that cost us a hundred points."

"And how many points has he gained for us this year," it was Regulus who spoke up.

"Yeah," Severus added in a rush of boldness. "And I'll probably get more before the end of term."

"I suppose," Rosier gave in. "We had better concentrate on quidditch in case Snape isn't as lucky as he thinks he is."

So another group of students broke apart. The other Slytherin would not seek revenge on Snape, but they did give him the cold shoulder. That didn't really bother him at that point. Nothing bothered him. He was too busy thinking of his mother. He would concentrate on his remaining exams that and not much else other than her would occupy his mind, unless it was figuring out how to get all those points back. Only in the smallest corner of his mind was he thinking about a certain red headed Gryffindor. The only plans he had for the rest of the day was to study. Those plans were disrupted a few hours later when Avery came in their room to tell him those two Ravenclaws were wondering around the dungeons looking for him.

Having no knowledge of where the Slytherin common room was other than it was in the dungeons somewhere, Rona and Xeno kept walking around down there hoping someone would show them. No one was going to show them, but one of the Slytherin prefects did ask them what they were up to.

"We're looking for Severus Snape," Xeno was the one to speak. "We're friends of his."

The seventh year Slytherin laughed. "Snape? Friends? Good one. You two had best clear off or I'll report you to Professor Slughorn."

They happened to be in luck that Avery and Mulciber were passing by on their way back from yet another kitchen raid. Mulciber mumbled with a mouthful of muffin, "Lothar, they are Snape's friends."

The older boy wisecracked, "Will wonders never cease? Go tell Snape his little friends are looking for him. They shouldn't be snooping around down here." The Slytherin prefect requested that the two Ravenclaws stay by the staircase so as not to see exactly where the door to their common room was.

Being ever curious Xeno crooked his neck in an attempt to see where the Slytherin were going. Corona rolled her eyes; it wasn't as if she could really see anything. They waited until Snape made his way around the same corner. Severus seemed surprised to see them though he had been fetched to see them. He thought it was Avery's idea of a joke. He expected something else to be there waiting to greet him.

"Hello," Sev said tentatively. He expected a right reaming out for the prank.

Instead they looked happy to see him. Corona rushed forth to say, "Severus, go get dressed in that suit you got yesterday."

"What for?" Snape had a confused look on his face; he made a hand gesture that matched his question.

"Xeno has a great idea."

Again Snape was shrugging.

"I," Xeno started. "I have a camera, and we can take a picture of you in your new suit and you can bring it to your mother so she'll - - "

Severus didn't let him finish. He barked at Rona, "You told him?"

"Yes I did," Corona didn't deny it. "He won't tell anyone else."

Looking between the two the Slytherin was deciding if this were true. Xeno was known in the school for being a bit of a big mouth. The other young wizard seeming to want to be believed looked Snape in the eyes and told him, "I won't tell anyone else." Snape nodded after a good pause. He read nothing in Lovegood's air that said he was not telling the truth.

"So - - " Severus felt slightly self-conscious of his outburst. His friends didn't seem to mind. "What were you trying to say?"

"We can make a picture for you mum." This time Xeno swung the camera off of his back to show it. "We have to hurry the light will be gone soon. So go get into that suit. You want to look your best for your mum don't you?"

The odd feeling that had been coming over Severus all that weekend was there again. He had real friends. It felt good. He turned on his heals and hurried to do as requested. As he left in his new clothes he could not escape the heckling of his Slytherin friends. "Look, Snape in decent clothes," one alerted. Then another one called out, "Next thing you know, he'll be washing his hair."

Snape gave a parting, "Oh stuff it."

tbc

_Next chapter should be up sooner_


	14. Could it Get Worse?

_Don't hate me for this one. I wrote this scene almost when I started writing the story, so there are some repeated themes._

They Call chapter 14

Could it Get Worse?

They were up on a hill by the lake. Xeno had mostly stood by as his girlfriend made over the sloppy Slytherin boy, until he felt he could help. "Wait, collar up." He made a flipping sign at his own.

"Up?" Sev asked.

"It will make you look cool."

"This picture is for my Mum."

"Still can't hurt to look cool."

Snape grinned and turned up the collar of his new wizard wear jacket.

"You are going to look great at the dance," Rona said. She was a proud stylist at the moment.

"Who said I was going to the dance?"

"Oh you're going all right."

"I am."

"Let me warn you now," Xeno advised, "when it comes to Corona, resistance is futile."

"I am forewarned."

For good measure Rona added one more, "You're going."

"Right now he needs to be posing," Xeno reminded.

So Snape sat strait in his new black suit actually smiling. The moment that Xeno's flash bulb went off, something else flashed. It was a spell. At the moment the camera was capturing the image, something exploded in Severus' face. His hair was blown back like a porcupine. Soot covered his face. The collar of his new suit was torn and smoking.

Laughs could be heard from behind a shrub. Snape's want was out just as fast. "INFERNO!" The small tree burst into flames. Potter and Black were forced out. "James, you're hair's on fire." Sirius shouted then slapped it out.

"It was worth it," Potter blurted out.

"What is wrong with the two of you!" Xeno shouted at the two marauders. Corona laid a calming hand on her boyfriend's arm. "No wonder Snape is always tries to curse you."

Said young man was nowhere to be seen when they looked back at where Severus had been. Snape had felt as if he didn't get out of there that second, he really would kill Potter and Black. His friends were still there defending him.

"You two are real jerks," Corona lambasted. "Severus just spent all of his money on that suit."

Black and Potter were still laughing. They laughed even harder when Xeno took the developing paper off of the picture. It was a perfect representation of the moment; Snape getting blown up, looking bewildered, and aiming his wand.

The Ravenclaw girl continued to shout, "It's not funny!"

"I'd like to make a poster out of that," Sirius stated.

Rona did something that was not in her normal character. "You'd like to make a poster out of it?" She walked over to Black and slapped him across the face with the picture. The momentum of the blow hit Potter as well. "It was for his mother! She's sick in the hospital!"

Snape had not cried, but Rona started to. Xeno wrapped his arms around her. "It's all right. We'll try again."

"I don't - - " Rona spoke between sobs. "I don't think Sev is ever going to try this again."

"We'll figure it out." Xeno turned back to the other two boys. "You can be such - - " He didn't like to swear, but he couldn't think of a better word to call them. " - - A-holes!" He went back to Rona. "We'll work it out." They walked away from where Black was now laughing at Potter.

"Your hair." Sirius pointed at James. James didn't look amused as his friend thought he should.

"I think we may have gone to far - - again," James admitted.

"One can never go too far when it comes to Snivelus. Didn't last week teach you that?"

"But it was for his mother."

"I'd be happy if my mum were in - - "

"Don't say something you don't mean. You'd be upset if your mum were in the hospital, and a couple of berks like us did what we just did."

"I suppose so."

-

Corona was drying her tears as she and Xeno walked further away. Then she grew concerned for their friend. "We've got to find Severus."

Xeno knew what Rona was suddenly afraid of. She had told him how she had met Sev the week before while the boy contemplated taking a nosedive off of Ravenclaw tower, so he understood her worry. They shouted as they made their way down the road that went back to the castle. "Severus!" Both of them called out. "Severus, where are you?"

Xeno wondered aloud, "You think he'll answer us if he doesn't want to be found?"

"I'm not sure," Rona answered as they kept looking. "He was so upset he didn't even hex Potter and Black." The girl gritted her teeth. Her hands clenched into fists. "Gerrr, I get so mad." She took a deep breath and relaxed. "I know Sev's a little odd. That doesn't give them the right - - "

"At least he's got you in his corner now."

Rona stopped walking. "Don't you mean us?"

Xeno's face danced around as he gulped. "Yes, of course, it just - - I think you take it a bit more personal. I don't like the unfairness of it no matter who it is."

"I take it personal, because I know how it feels."

"That was a few years ago. Now everyone loves you." Xeno laid a smooch on Rona's forehead.

"I don't know about love, Lovegood," Rona joked. "But they don't tease me anymore. I wish that for Severus, that's all. And you were right. He does remind me of Thalion."

"You don't think Severus would really - - "

"Speaking of the devil," Rona interrupted. Xeno followed her eye line to see Snape sitting on a tree stump a little ways off the path. Both of them saw the Slytherin's wand aimed near his own face. Flashes of light were coming forth. Without words the two Ravenclaws flew to what they saw.

"SEVERUS DON"T!" Rona shouted.

"Don't what?" Snape turned around, his hair hung back around his tear soaked face. They could now see where small patches of pale skin shown through the soot. Sev had been trying a removal spell, but had only been able to produce results in small areas. "Oh, I see. You thought - - " He didn't say what he knew they thought.

Corona took out her wand and cast a spell of her own. "Repario!" It worked. "Good as new, almost." Snape still looked a bit disheveled.

Even thought they were just friends, only for a short time so far, and they would never be anything more than friends, Corona's smile warmed Severus' heart. Those days not much did that. He looked over to Xeno who didn't seem to mind that his girlfriend was paying so much attention to another boy, and told him, "You're a very lucky man Xenophillius Lovegood." Snape stood. "I'm all right. You don't have to look after me." Those hands were back in his pockets. "I'm going for a walk, alone."

"But - - " both friends protested.

"Really, it's all right. There's a lot I need to think about." Sev could see the look on their faces, especially Rona's. "I don't plan on visiting anyplace high."

Being very perceptive, the two Ravenclaws knew not to push him. In her heart Rona wanted to drag Sev back to get that picture for his mom. She knew this was not the time for that. She didn't know what to say besides, "We'll see you around."

Severus' only comment was, "yes, around."

Snape really did want to be alone. No not alone, what he was seeking was solitude. He followed one of the paths around the lake not sure exactly where he was going, much like the path of his life. He was trying to figure out how his life had gone so out of control until it reached the miserable state it was in. Every time he thought on it, there was one answer. The same answer he always came to, 'James Potter and Sirius Black.' He still refused to look at any part he might have in the situation. If he did not react to their teasing maybe it would have stopped long ago. In being a retaliator, he had given them exactly what they had wanted.

After a while of walking and thinking, Snape didn't even know where he was walking. Looking down at the ground nothing around him was in his sight. When he looked up he was near a secluded cove. Someone was sitting on a large rock, feet in the water, throwing pebbles in as well. It didn't dawn on Severus that this was Lily until he was almost on top of her. Lily turned just as he looked up. It registered with both of them at the same time who the other was. Snape stopped short stunned, like an animal caught unaware. Evans looked as if she'd would've ripped him apart if he got any closer.

"Give it a rest Snape," Lily snapped. "You're unbelievable."

"I didn't know you were here," Sev protested.

"Yeah right. You better leave."

"Is this your own private lakeside?"

"If you don't stop stalking me, I'm going to tell a teacher."

"Stalking you," Snape sputtered. "I told you I didn't know you were here."

"So you say."

"You don't believe I could have just been walking out here, and happened to come across you?"

"No, I don't believe that." She was standing now, grabbing her shoes. "Don't think I didn't see you last week up in Ravenclaw tower trying to sneak a peek."

"What?"

"Reverted to hiding in bushes have you?"

"I wasn't - - "

What seemed to be Lily's favorite words were on her lips again, "Save your breath."

"Thought you were smart enough to come up with something else to say," Sev snipped.

Lily had to pass Sev on the path to get back where she wanted to go. It was not till she saw his new clothes and his extra disheveledness that she asked, "What are you wearing? What happened to you?"

Severus made a scrunched up face, and answered, "Answer to question one, new clothes. Answer to question two, Potter and Black, what do you think happened."

"Again with Potter and Black." Lily headed away. "You are pathetic."

Severus felt as if he were being slapped in the face, figuratively, al over again. He was feeling as pathetic as Lily thought he was. He didn't even turn to see her leave. If it hadn't been for the words that had come from two people he hadn't even known a week ago, he might have let that feeling fester. He might have tried to do something drastic again. He should have gotten angry; told Lily Evans to jump in the lake herself, but he would never tell her that. Severus was still convinced that when Lily calmed down, she would come to her senses, and he was still hopelessly in love with her.

tbc


	15. Boys Will Be Boys

They Call chapter 15

Boys Will Be Boys

Severus' mind was no clearer when he returned to the Slytherin dorms. Everything except what he should be thinking about for his Charms O.W.L. the next day ran through it; How Lily had acted by the lake; being humiliated by Potter and Black once again; and mostly about his mother being at St. Mungo's. All he needed now to make his day complete was the harassment he expected from his dorm mates. As if on cue, he could hear Rosier's voice calling him, "Hey Snape."

"What Rosier?" Snape used the tone he usually reserved for Gryffindors. "Want to finish telling me what a loser you think I am."

"Actually," Evan took a deep breath. "Listen, I'm about to say something you may never hear come out of my mouth again."

An urge to say something completely snarky was waiting to be let loose depending on what Severus heard come out of said mouth.

"I've been acting like a jerk."

Severus stuck his pinky in his ear to clear it thinking he was hearing things. "What did you just say?"

"I – have – been – acting – like – a – jerk."

"That's what I thought you said."

"Listen, it's hard enough to say once, let alone twice. I just wanted you to know, I'm sorry to hear about your mother."

"Oh - - " Snape wasn't sure what to say. He had a feeling this admission of jerkiness, was a cover for pity. That was something he never wanted. He managed to say, "Thanks."

"I suppose you're all set for the Charms O.W.L.s tomorrow?"

It was hard for Severus to fall back into normal conversation after how Evan had been treating him the last week, but he managed. "Of course I'm ready."

"You wouldn't mind, going over some things with the rest of us in the common room rather than hiding up here?"

Still not sure if this was going to be another trick, Snape hesitated. The chance to show off for his fellow Slytherins proved too much of a lure. "Yeah, you lot might need someone who actually knows what they're doing to prepare yourselves for tomorrow."

"Now, there is the Snape we all know and love," Rosier bantered back.

Snape would take the complement. If he couldn't be known and loved for his personality, he didn't mind being known and loved for his superior skill. Most of the other fifth years were prepared enough to pass the Charms exams, but it was always fun to see Snape trying to teach Avery and Mulciber a thing or two. They also knew that Snape knew the most pragmatic way to solve a problem. If they knew one thing, they knew that Severus knew what he was doing when it came to magic. The studying of Charms turned into Snape showing the other Slytherin what they called his 'get back at' spells. These were harmless jinxes, but they always enjoyed them even if some of them had to be the guinea pigs.

"Why do I always get the unpleasant ones?" Mulciber asked after a nasty spell "Puke Face," that made small amounts of vomit ooze out of its victim's facial pores, was tried out on him. "Merlin's dirty gym socks it smells." It didn't smell to pleasant for the rest of the people in the common room. "Fix it Snape."

"Very well," Snape pointed his wand at Mulciber's face one more time. "Endio."

"It still smells."

"Just go wash your face idiot."

"Oh."

Though holding their noses, the other Slytherin laughed heartily, Mulciber's closest buddy, Avery, louder than all. "Tisk tisk," Snape admonished. Avery knew it was his turn. "Everlasting Ventus," Snape cursed and Avery began to 'break wind' one right after another. As only adolescent boys can, many of them couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably.

Every time Avery said, "Hey, Severus, make it stop," and another noise came from the unfortunate boy, the other ones grabbed their sides in mirth. Some were rolling on the couches; tears rolling down their faces the laughed so hard.

The Slytherin girls on the other hand found the whole thing, "Disgusting," Claudeary Pillori commented as the other Slytherin girls crossed their arms and turned their noses up at the Slytherin boys. They were soon pinching those same noses. Most of them left the room.

"Come now Claudi," Snape directed his words towards the girl. "Don't tell me you wouldn't love to do that to Hilda Lugrey."

Claudi's lips disappeared inside of her mouth as is she were trying not to say, 'yes I would.' Snape still knew what she was thinking. Snape pointed at the girls as he said, "Ah ha, you would."

"One day Severus Snape," Claudi addressed, vexed. "You will be wrong."

The sound of Avery's continuous tooting made her admonishment seem ridiculous.

"Not any time soon," Snape sneered in confidence. The boys were still croaking out snorts of laughter.

Snape took pity on Avery and everyone else's noses by stopped the jinx. A look of relief crossed Avery's face. The boy's chortles slowly came to an end just as Professor Slughorn walked into the common room. The head of their house came to tell his Slytherins it was getting late. "You should be turning in." The hefty wizard's nose wrinkled up. "What have you boys been doing in here?"

"Studying," Rosier answered for all.

"Good thing there's no fire tonight." Slughorn shook his head in disbelief before once more bidding them and any remaining girls to go to their dorm rooms. "Long day tomorrow." The head of Slytherin's words cleared out the common room of the boys as fast as the fart jinx had cleared it of the girls.

Back in their dorm room when everyone was in bed and the lights were out, it was the only resident of that room that wasn't on the qudditch teem who brought up the subject. Severus asked Regulus, "How do you think the GryffinDopes are going to do tomorrow without your brother knocking everyone off their brooms?"

"They aren't going to win, even if Sirius was playing." Reg seemed sure. "The RavenClucks have a good teem this year."

"Not good enough to beat us," Mulciber declared. The other boys could hear the sound of the quiditch beater pounding his fist into his palm. "After we slaughter the Huff-and-Puffs, we'll have a tough game for the final but we'll win."

"Especially with our secret weapon." Rosier seemed to want to butter Snape up now. "We have the best broom charmer in the history of the school."

Snape would have been happy with that moniker if it were one that was known to the whole school, not just in whispers. He would have rather have been an actual player, even if he'd never admit it. Little did he know that over in Gryffindor tower, part of their team was plotting something that might give him just the chance he had been waiting for. If they had known it was going to help 'Snivellus' the marauders wouldn't be planning their little prank. They knew they didn't have a chance at winning this year, but they thought it would be hilarious if Ravenclaw had to face Hufflepuff for the final. This year's Hufflepuff team was the worst ever. The Slytherins were going to walk all over them, unless something happened. The marauders planned to be that something. It was almost another week before the Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin game, but they wanted to be prepared for the moment. Knowing that Dumbledore would be watching for them to do something to Snape, they changed their target to someone quite unexpected.

As usual Lupin was a bit weary of his friends' plotting. "You are determined to get expelled, aren't you?"

Black inquired, "You scared to help us on this one?"

As usual Lupin backed down. "You know if you need me, I'm there."

"All right," Potter came in. "Let's go over the plan again." He looked at Pettigrew to make his point. "We have to make sure everyone knows exactly what to do."

tbc


	16. Theoretical

They Call chapter 16

Theoretical

As he had expected Severus breezed through both parts of the Charms O.W.L. The only glitch was at the end when the examiner for the practical part of the exam asked the young wizard, "What is the largest thing you can conjure into being?" Rather than answer verbally Severus took up his wand, trying something he'd never tried before. "Tigrissortia!" Then and there a large Bengal tiger sprang forth from Snape's wand. It even shocked the caster of the spell. He didn't know he had it in him. Severus felt like taking the gamble, he had been slightly afraid that the spell might cast some ridiculously tiny striped kitten or something. Instead of his feared failure, there stood a ferocious beast.

Everyone in the room jumped back. The examiner who wasn't much bigger than Professor Flitwick jumped up on a table in one bound, wand at the ready as the large feline looked at him with a lick on its lips. Matters were made worse when Severus slipped on one letter in the vanishing spell he said "Eva-lesco", rather than 'Eva-nesco.' The tiger grew to twice its size. At first his creation turned on Snape, and Severus fell to a sitting position on the floor. People were scrambling for the exits. Some of the examiners and professors were taking out their wands. The tiger must have thought Sev, whose skinny legs were motoring him backwards, too bony a meal, so he turned back to the small but chunky examiner atop the table.

'This will be a Hogwarts first,' Snape thought darkly. He could imagine the headline: _'Ministry examiner eaten by student's spell.'_ Before he could make Hogwarts history in such a negative manner he got to a position where he was knelling on one knee and, "Evanesco"ed the tiger out of existence.

"Young man," the blinking examiner asked, "You have never done that before, have you?"

"N-no," Severus answered as he got to his feet.

"It is not wise to use spells when you don't know what the result will be." This statement led Snape to believe he was about to be told he would receive an automatic Troll because of his last spell. The examiner said differently, "Still, you have shown great skill in this subject. I need not see anymore. You are dismissed."

On his way out he had to pass Professor McGonagall. She had been one of the ones who had stood ready to destroy the tiger if needed. The head of Gryffindor could not stop herself from asking, "Trying to make an impression Mr.Snape?" It would not be the first time she had accused him of attention seeking behavior.

Severus didn't want to answer the Transfiguration professor at all. He knew he could not pretend not to hear her. "Would you expect anything less from 'me' Professor?"

"Minus twenty points for cheekiness."

Snape kept walking away glad it was not she who would be grading him today. Once well away from the Great Hall, Severus began to breathe freely. He was determined not to think of anything to do with exams for the rest of that day. Tomorrow was the Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor game, then at night the Astronomy O.W.L. That would be a breeze. Day after that was Herbology; following day History of Magic; the week would end on Transfiguration. These were three subjects he wasn't worried about. What he was worried about was the quidditch practice on Wednesday, and the game against Hufflepuff on Saturday. The players were counting on him for an edge against whomever they played.

If it weren't for the final game, if Slytherin wasn't in it, the next week would be useless in Snape's opinion. He would still rather be at Hogwarts doing nothing rather than getting home any sooner than necessary. Then there was the dance. He wondered if Corona would not bring that subject up again. He didn't even want to go with his Slytherin buddies who had planned to go stag, with mayhem in mind. The idea of seeing Lily dancing with anyone was one that did not thrill him. Then again, maybe it would be worth seeing her before they went home on the train. She couldn't accuse him of stalking her at the dance. Maybe it would be his one chance of getting her to stop treating him like a plague and talk to him as a friend again.

Severus knew he needed to stop his habit of not looking where he was going. Then again, Lily hadn't been looking either.

"You again," she huffed out.

Severus quipped with a sly grin on his lips, "Maybe it's fate."

"Riiiiiight."

"You going to your practical?"

"Yes, not that it's any of your business."

'So she's still like that,' Severus thought. "Lils, can't you even TRY to forgive me?"

"Don't call me that. You last that privilege when you called me that foul word."

"You KNOW I didn't mean that."

"I've heard this song and dance before Snape."

Severus gave Lily the pitiful look that used to gain her sympathy.

She gave him a stern look back and lectured, "I am going to tell you this one more time so we won't have this conversation a thousand more times over the next two years."

"Think I'll beg you to be my friend again a thousand times?"

"I know you Snape. I will not even consider being your friend again until the day where you stand on top of the Slytherin table in the great hall, declaring that all the want-to-be death eaters are a - - a bunch of pantywaists and you disassociate yourself from them publicly."

Snape was flabbergasted. Is that really what she thought of people like Evan Rosier, Regulus Black, - - him? "Pantywaists, how creative. You might be able to call Mulciber a dullard, but Pantywaist? Really Evans you're losing your touch. That's something Sirius Black would come up with."

"I'm going to be late." With that Lily turned and walked towards the great hall. She didn't want to tell Severus that the last person she had heard call those Slytherin that was indeed Sirius Black.

Severus turned around to see Corona standing not too far away. He could see the clay tablet in her hand. 'Here it comes.'

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Rona said politely. "I wanted to show you my translation. Before I could let you know I was here, you and Miss. Evans started - - Was that an argument?"

The previously stunned Snape smirked. "I believe that could be categorized as an argument." He held out an open hand. "Let me see the translation."

Corona handed Severus the tablet and a parchment. "Let's go sit in the library."

As Sev sat reading Rona's translation the girl felt compelled to tell her friend. "She's covering."

"Who's covering what?" Snape's singular way of thinking had already changed modes and wasn't thinking of Lily at that moment.

"Miss. Evans." Not sure if she were giving him false hope to think that Lily would ever be his friend again, she still told him, "She still cares about you, but she can't allow herself to."

The young man wanted to ask Corona how she knew that. Severus knew she was immensely perceptive and believed her with out question.

Corona added, "Funny, she accuses others of only seeing things one way, but she only sees things one way."

"How do you see things if not your own way?"

The young lady smiled. "There are so many ways to think of things, sometimes, it makes my head spin."

Suddenly Severus said earnestly, "Here's something to think about if you want your head to spin."

She looked at him with interest. "A head-spinning subject Mr. Snape?" Rona had called Sev by his last name in a humorous way, not the way Lily had been doing.

"The crux of my 'argument' with Evans is my associates."

"Associates?"

"Present company excluded. My house, dorm mates, my fellow Slytherin."

Even though Corona knew some of them had parents that were death eaters she asked, "What about them?"

"I'm not at liberty to say who," Sev began. "But some have family that have certain connections."

Feeling as if Snape were gauging if he could trust her further than he already had she said, "I think I know what kind of connections you mean."

"What if **I **had those kind of connections?"

Rona's voice rose. "Do you?"

"No."

Corona relaxed.

Snape continued, "But what if I did?"

"But you don't."

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?"

"How can she be mad at me for something I'm not?"

Solaris gave Snape a look that went right through him. He added, "Yet."

"Yet Severus? You're not seriously thinking - - "

"Not seriously."

"Thoughts like that are fairly serious."

"I know if someone were considering it, it would be serious."

"Then you're not considering it?"

"It may have crossed my mind."

"Severus?"

He leaned in to her as he went into his next hypothetical, "Haven't you ever thought of doing something that certain people might not think is so great?"

Her pause told Snape that Corona had at least thought of something like it. She told, "I've wanted to work on a certain spell. One that people say is impossible. But that's not the same as thinking about joining up with - - you know who."

"What if he is right?"

"He may be right, but the ends don't justify his means."

"If the ends are what you want? Shouldn't you try everything to get it?"

"I'm not sure. I think you should try hard, but everything, that's so merciless."

Snape was about to argue that nobody had ever shown him this so called mercy that everyone gave a good talk about. He knew he was talking to someone who actually had. He also knew that if he ever did make the decision he felt compelled to make, he'd probably loose her mercy as well. "Would you stop wanting to be my friend if you thought I was going to do something like that?"

"I don't choose my friends for what they might do."

Severus felt Corona's question evasive. He was trying to figure out if Lily's reaction was what most people would do. What a 'normal' person would do. Severus recognized that his feelings were often not 'normal.' He had seen his mother forgive his father for things far worse over and over again. Wasn't that what people who cared about you did? "If I was a death eater, would you cut me out of your life?"

"This is getting deep Severus. This is about Evans, not me."

"It's not about either of you." Severus seemed to be having an odd epiphany. "It's - - about me."

"And right now, at this moment," Corona reassured, "We are friends. I can't answer you about what I might do, for something you might do. I don't think I'd like it if you chose that path, but it is your path to choose. Not mine, not Lily Evan's, yours."

tbc


	17. Guilty By Association

They Call chapter 17

Guilt By Association

Accepting that what Corona had said was correct, Severus turned back to the parchment with the translation on it. "Impressive," Snape murmured as he read looking from the parchment to the tablet. "Almost perfect, but here - - " He pointed to a line in the middle of her version of the potion. "This has to be a mistake." He double-checked the tablet. "It looks as if it's right, but if you add that to the rest, they'll be a problem."

"Oh?" Corona didn't want to admit her ignorance in the effects of that ingredient.

She let him explain, "Mica flakes and lotus root will certainly cause brain rot if inhaled." Severus scrutinized the tablet again. "But that is what it says." The boy looked puzzled. "Wonder if the wizard who wrote this knew that."

"What if the one who wanted a record of the potion wasn't the one who wrote it out?"

"Or if the one who wrote it wanted whoever was going to brew it to have their brain rotted."

"Ewwww, what a dreadful thought."

"Suppose that's a good reason to know what ingredients do when combined wrongly."

"Yeah." Corona agreed, but then an urgent look came over her. "I have to get going. My practical in Charms slot is approaching."

"Sure, good luck."

"Luck?" Ravenclaws almost never relied on luck for exams, but she quickly got his meaning. "Oh, thanks."

When Corona was gone, Snape began to think about what she had said to him earlier. He was the only one who had to choose what side of the wizarding war he was going to be on when he left school. The problem was, he truly didn't know which side was right. It didn't matter to him which side was, as some people put it, good or evil. It mattered which side was right. That still perplexed him. Some days he thought Dumbledore was right; the statute of secrecy was there for a reason, and that muggles had the same rights as wizards. Other days he was convinced that wizards needed to come out of hiding and take charge; teach the muggles a lesson they would not soon forget.

The fact that wizards were superior to muggles was one that he firmly believed. Yet one way he was not like other potential death eaters was that not even on his worst day did Severus think that muggles should be eliminated. After all, thought few knew it, he was half muggle himself. He knew how rotten they could be from living with his father, but he knew that they were not all bad from others that he had lived along side of. No matter where he chose to fight, the fact that certain individuals might have to be 'taken care of' be they muggle or wizard didn't seem to bother him. Inside Severus had always found it interesting that if a dark wizard used certain curses, they were unforgivable while if an auror used the same ones it was a necessary evil. To him, the line between death eater and auror was a thin one at best. He was still too young to truly understand what evil was.

As Snape sat there daydreaming Mr. Tome was making a sweep of the desks and stacks. Seeing Severus seemingly doing nothing other than staring off into space he suggested, "Mr. Snape, why don't you go outside and get some air?"

"Air?" Tome had already moved on as Snape thought, 'Why is everyone always saying that to me? There is just as much air in here as there is outside, or else we'd all be suffocating.' Regardless of this thought, the young man did go outside. By the exit of the library there was an array of occupation advisory pamphlets that were there for the fifth years to read. He picked one up that many people would not have expected, _'Got What It Takes To Be An Auror?' _

From behind he could hear a familiar laugh. Why was Sirius always around when he was least wanted? "You should leave that for someone who actually can be one," Black taunted.

Severus held his anger in check. He would not dignify Black by opening his mouth to tell him that Slughorn had told Snape that he had the grades and the skills to be an auror, if he could buckle down and fly strait for the next two years the professor himself would give him a recommendation. Of course that had been before he had slipped Potter Veritaserum. Shoving the pamphlet in a pocket, Severus took that walk.

Sirius called after him, "What's this Snivelly, no witty come back?"

Finding a secluded nook in the courtyard where he would not be seen or disturbed, Severus pulled out the pamphlet and began to look it over. 'Who says I can't be an auror?' He tried to believe it was possible. 'Possible if I turn my back on every Slytherin that calls me a friend.' Wasn't that exactly what Lily had wanted? 'Maybe this would be a way to show her; show them all.' Snape might have talked himself into thinking he could be an auror if it wasn't for what happened next.

Professor Slughorn was walking close to where Severus was concealed. The boy did not see him, he heard him. At first the words slid past Snape's consciousness until Slughorn and the two people he was talking to stopped within feet of him. "You have no idea how much of a pleasure it has been to see you again Lexus."

"I'm glad you think so," a woman's voice responded. "I'm afraid you may not feel that way when I confide in you that though we found a handful of possible candidates for auror training, none of them were from our house."

The head of Slytherin cleared his throat. "None?"

"None."

A man's voice added his words on the matter, "I don't think I can think of many other Slytherin that are aurors."

Slughorn still not believing what he was being told asked, "What about my Mr. Snape?"

There seemed to be a pause. If he could see the two aurors Severus would have seen them giving each other questioning looks. The woman called Lexus asked, "That the one that charmed up that tiger?"

"The very one."

"That was a bit surprising for a fifth year."

"Lex - - " the man spoke.

"Yes Alastor?"

"That kid is also the one I was telling you about."

"The friend of Lucius Malfoy?"

"The very one."

"What's this all about?" Slughorn huffed.

Lexus took a deep sigh before answering. "We have some suspicions about the younger Malfoy."

"He's been gone for three years."

"Still we've been keeping an eye on those students who may have been associates of his. Most of them have parents who are suspected of being death eaters."

Moody broke in again. "All except this Snape kid. We couldn't figure him out."

"Perhaps," Slughorn defended. "That is because there is nothing to figure out."

Moody laughed. "This kid has dark written all over him."

"Sometimes, what is written isn't the whole story."

Lexus asked, "A protégé of yours Horace?"

Clearing his throat again Slughorn said, "In sorts. Only one student in the whole school more brilliant at potions."

"So I've heard," Moody informed. "I've also heard this kid has a passion for the dark arts."

"As an auror yourself, you know that to defend against them, one needs to know them."

"Know them is one thing. Revel in them is another."

"Revel, that's a bit strong."

"If he's one of your favorites," Lex began to ask. "Why wasn't he at your little gathering last night?"

"Well - - " for a third time Slughorn was clearing his throat. "Disciplinary reasons."

Chortles could be heard coming form both aurors.

"Professor," Moody summed up. "I can practically guarantee you that there is not a one of the Slytherin graduating in the next three years that will be accepted for auror training. If you are fond of this boy, you should point him in a different direction. That is of course if he already isn't, if you catch my drift."

"I believe you are mistaken. Quite a few people believed Lexus here would not become an auror, but I knew she could do it. I taught her."

"Let's not forget who else you taught at the same time," Lexus reminded.

As if not wanting to be reminded about that someone, Slughorn gave his parting words. "I must be getting to some last bit of grading I still have, so I'll be saying farewell to you both."

Severus figured Professor Slughorn must have walked away when the two aurors began speaking a moment later.

"Poor old Sluggy," Lex said. "He so wants to believe in his kids."

"Well not all of them are bad eggs," Moody admitted. "Maybe we should think about giving the ministry this Snape kid's name?"

"Not this year."

When it had been silent for a few more minutes, Severus guessed that the aurors had left as well. Snape felt as if he had held his breath from the first mention of Malfoy's name. He now took deep breaths. Aurors were already keeping an eye on him. 'What did I ever do other than be a friend of Lucius?' Was that all it took to be considered guilty; be someone's friend? Feeling like he had already been judged, Severus found himself crumpling up the pamphlet on what was needed to be an auror in his fist. 'What use is it?' The crumpled parchment was pitched at the ground then kicked away for good measure. 'People like me are never given breaks. We're never given anything. We have to take.'

tbc


	18. Unexpectd Help

_I have to get caught up on my thankyous for reviews. Thanks for reading too._

They Call chapter 18

Unsuspected Help

In a state somewhere between anger and dejection Snape had not moved from the secluded nook. He was about to leave when he overheard another familiar voice talking to one of the many visitors there at the time of the O.W.L. exams. The distinctive voice of the head of Ravenclaw asked, "So what do you think of our fifth years this time around?"

"I agree with what you told me before." Severus recognized the speaker as the little wizard who had given him his practical Charms exam. "This class is one of the most talented I have seen in years."

There was silence. The hidden listener imagined a smile and a wink on the two men's faces. Severus clenched his teeth on hearing the praises of Potter, and Black. Flitwick continued by saying, "You did not get to see the best of my house. She is being tested as we speak." He must have meant Corona.

"I must say I was quite delighted, thought scared by that tiger that the Slytherin boy charmed up."

"Yes, Mr. Snape is quite talented." Flitwick complemented, but he also added, "talented indeed, but quite troubled. Doesn't get on well with other students."

'You'd be troubled you little twit,' Severus thought. "If you had jerks like Potter hanging you upside-down threatening to - - ' He didn't want to think of that again. It was only the latest in a long line of humiliations the self-proclaimed marauders had put him through after he lost Malfoy's protection when his older friend graduated.

Flitwick continued, "Rumor has it there are problems at the boy's home."

Severus' urge to stay hidden outweighed his urge to jump out and shout at the Charms professor, 'And rumor has it you've got goblin ancestry!' Better yet brining forth another tiger to eat the two tiny wizards.

The only comment the examiner had was, "Oh - - pity."

Again Snape had to guess that the speakers had left by the length of the silence. He thought of that last word; pity. That was something he had never wanted from anyone, and the last thing he wanted people to think of him. Then he thought of the word Professor Flitwick had used; troubled. 'I'd rather be considered trouble, than troubled.' For some reason he could only think of getting away from the school, so he thought of the headmaster's promise to him. Dumbledore had said, 'anytime.' To Snape the time was now. He made his way to the headmaster's office knowing that the man might not be there. Not knowing the password, Severus stood in front of the gargoyle pacing. 'If he's in there, I'm going to feel rather stupid.' After waiting a small amount of time the boy began trying to guess at the password. He knew it was always some silly convection that Dumbledore used. Snape figured if he started naming them off, one might just work. "Candy corn." Didn't work. "Marshmallow chicks." Didn't work. "Red hots." Didn't work. "Penuche fudge." Didn't work. A whole string of candy didn't work.

"I believe the word you are looking for is - - " Dumbledore had arrived. " - - Gingerbread man." The gargoyle moved and the moving staircase was revealed. The headmaster gestured that the boy should go up first.

"Professor I wasn't trying to break in if that's what you're thinking."

"You weren't?"

"No, I was looking for you."

"Ever hear of knocking?"

The youth's pale face did put up a color.

Dumbledore spoke again, "I sometimes think you don't even know why you are doing certain things."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you liked the idea of trying to break the password. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Perhaps - - but I was looking for you."

The old wizard tilted his head waiting to hear why he was being looked for, though he could guess.

"You promised," Severus reminded. "You said I could go see my mother again. You said you'd make sure."

"So I did."

"I want to go. Now."

Dumbledore was not dim. He knew this was a test. Something had worked the boy up, so he wanted to see if Dumbledore was a man of his word. He was. His first words were not an indication of that. "It isn't the most convenient time." Dumbledore was doing some testing of his own. As the old wizard was afraid of, the younger one grew angry.

"Sorry my mother's dying at an inconvenient time," the boy scoffed. Severus looked at Dumbledore with every ounce of intensity he had. It was a look that many could not match, but Dumbledore looked back with every ounce of compassion he had.

The headmaster asked, "Did I say I would not take you?"

"No."

"Don't jump to conclusions my young friend. If you could learn to control that vast amount of anger inside of you, you could find the power that eludes you at the moment." Dumbledore walked back out of his study. "Let's go."

A stunned Snape followed Dumbledore to the gates of the school. Before grabbing on to Dumbledore to apparate to St. Mungo's, Severus said, "You know that I have powers that not even your precious Potter has."

The older wizard looked at the younger one. Snape expected Dumbledore to shake his hand away and tell him he could get to London on his own. Instead concern showed in the teacher's eyes. "Severus, that is not the kind of power I was speaking of." On that thought, Dumbledore apparated the two of them into the wizarding hospital's greeting room. Instead of going on with him, the headmaster told the boy, "I will be back for you in - - two hours." He disapparated, leaving the boy on his own.

At first Severus didn't even move. He was still pondering what Dumbledore had said. He wondered what kind of power the old man was talking about. He found himself remembering the one thing he didn't want to remember; Potter making him the laughing stock of the school. That was not a very powerful position to be in. Was there some kind of power that could have prevented that from happening? Before he could think about it any further, the welcome witch was asking him whom he was there to visit.

"Eileen Snape."

"Oh, I'm afraid that patient is not receiving visitors today."

"I'm her son!"

"That doesn't matter if the healers say - - "

"I don't give a hickypunk's hinny hole what the healers say." Severus' voice was getting louder. "I want to see my mother!"

"Young man calm down."

"Calm down." Snape was no longer shouting; he was seething. "Don't you tell me to calm down. I'm going through that door, and seeing my mother."

Severus was doing just as he said when the welcome witch warned, "If you keep walking, I'll have to call security."

"GO AHEAD!" Severus yelled as he strode through the door heading for the elevator to the floor he knew Eileen was on. He could hear the welcome witch's amplified voice calling out, "Security to the welcome area, corridor one."

His wand out, Snape pointed to the elevator button. "Rapido." It was no use. Three large security-wizards were feet away as the door opened. Other visitors were exiting the elevator with complaints of it descending fast enough to make one sick. Severus bolted through the visitors to get inside, but he did not evade the security-wizards.

"Come out of there boy," the toughest looking one said as the doors slammed shut on him. The hulk of a man shoved the door aside and grabbed Severus before the kid could curse him out of the way. "I'd put that wand away, especially if you're as I suspect underaged."

Severus lowered his wand and the man grabbed him more securely. "Let go of me you thug." Sev knew he'd never get away without magic.

"Thug he calls me," the first security-wizard said to the others. "He's the one running amuck in a hospital, but I'm the thug."

The boy thought about biting the man's arm. He wasn't underaged to bite someone, possibly overaged. 'No, not life threatening. No biting.' Severus resorted to kicking, but the man's grip increased.

"Oh, so you're going to play tough guy eh?" The man told his co-workers, "Grab Mr. Atlas here's legs and let's get him out of here."

Again Snape protested, "Let go of me!"

Some of the visitors who had just left the elevator witnessed the three security-wizards hauling the teenager out the door. "Now you stay our," the head one ordered. "Or we'll have to hex ya."

Most of the adult witches and wizards shook their heads. "Such a disgraceful display. How are young wizards being raised these days?"

Severus looked fairly pathetic gaping through the fronting glass of the lobby. One of the older wizards that had seen this display was not shaking his head at the boy. He went to the welcome witch asking, "Why was that boy thrown out? He's obviously in some sort of distress."

"We here at St. Mungo's don't take kindly to people who break our rules," the welcome witch informed.

"But you here at St. Mungo's are also supposed to help those of the wizarding world who are in distress."

"Magical distress."

"I have a feeling, if you do not help that boy, there will be a lot of magical distress around here."

"Sir, no offence," the witch was about to offend, "you might want to mind your own business."

The man knew he was not going to get anywhere with this woman. He went out side to the distraught boy. "Excuse me young man," he addressed.

At first Severus didn't think the man was talking to him until the man was so close that there was no mistaking who he was talking to. "Young man."

"What?"

"Why did you cause such a disturbance in there?"

No answer came forth from the boy.

"I would like to help you, but if you don't tell me what is going on, how can I?"

"They won't let me see my mother," Snape answered in a low tone.

"Your mother is in there?"

"No she's over at the Ministry of Magic," Sev's sarcasm showed up. "Why would I be trying to get in there if she wasn't?"

The older wizard ignored the boy's snark; he understood the stress the young man must be under. "Would you like some help, or not?"

Realizing the man was for real, not just being nosey, Severus agreed, "Yes I would."

"Follow me." The man marched right back into the hospital. Severus dared to follow.

The welcome witch was not happy. "Why are you bringing him back in here?"

"I don't intend to bring him where you don't want him." The older man could see the boy glare at this comment. "I'm bringing him to see a friend of mine." The man led Severus in an entirely different direction from where all the trouble had been. "Sometimes it helps to have connections." He led him to a place where there was a row of offices. "Take a seat." There was a line of chairs against the wall. The boy sat.

"Your mother's name lad?"

Feeling that the man was going to help Severus told him, "Eileen Snape."

The man went to one of the offices and knocked. They let him in. A short while after another hospital worker showed up. He asked, "You the Snape kid?"

"Why?"

"I'm here to escort you to see your mother."

A smile grew on Sev's face as he stood to follow.

"You can only stay a few minutes, got it?"

Sev nodded. He understood that some strings must have been pulled to get him this chance. All he wanted was to see his mother. Even if it would only be for a few minutes, he'd take them. He had wanted to thank the man who had helped him, but the man had not come out of the office he'd gone into. The hospital worker was walking away, Severus wasn't going to linger.

A few minutes later inside of that the office, that belonged to one of the hospital's administrators, the man was saying goodbye to the head medi-witch. She was telling him, "Any time you need help Mr. Potter, you come right to me."

"I just hope if my son comes here to see his mother, he won't have the kind of trouble that unfortunate young man had."

Mr. Potter obviously didn't know this was the infamous 'Snivellus' that his son and his best friend often were scolded for derisively speaking of when they were at his house. If Severus had known who it was that had helped him, he might not have taken it.

tbc


	19. Visit, Short

They Call chapter 19

Visit, Short

Arriving at the door to the locked ward that Snape's mother was in Severus' escort asked, "How'd you think you were going to get past Jake?"

The boy shrugged. 'I would have thought of something," he thought, but he didn't say it. He didn't want to say anything that would find him going back out the front door. The guard named Jake had been expecting them so there were no problems getting in. The muscle bound hospital worker followed Severus to the room. The hospital wanted to make sure that the young man followed their rules and only stayed a few minutes. They didn't want him wondering off to find some other kind of mischief either.

Outside the door of his mother's room Snape saw a familiar face, it was the healer who had been there the day before. "Didn't expect to see you back here so soon."

Indignity in his voice, Severus asked, "Why not?"

"Hogwarts is a long way from London."

The worried son of her patient cut to the chase inquiring, "Why didn't you want me to see her?"

"We have been trying to reverse some of the recent - - problems your mother has been having."

"What makes you think I'd interfere with that?"

The healer dealt with upset family members on a regular basis, so was not bothered by the boy's rising anger. She did however have a warning for him. "Your mother is in a very venerable state right now." The healer then thought there might be something the boy could do. "Perhaps it was wrong to keep you away, I think you could do something to help." This perked Severus' mood up.

"What," he asked. "Tell me what to do."

The healer was happy to see that the boy was enthused to help. She had had the feeling that the boy might be like the father who had constantly reminded them that 'they' were the healers, they were the wizards even thought what they asked did not require any magic, just love. "If she will listen to you, we need some way, perhaps a promise, that she will not use magic."

"But you said she didn't know she was doing it."

"We have managed to bring back some of her cognitive function. If she can be stabilized, we might even be able to move her to a regular ward."

"You said that yesterday, but she's still locked in here."

"I was sure she'd be ready today." The healer did not want to get the boy's hopes up. "But if she slips and tries a spell, it could all be lost again."

"Are you telling me - - " the boy looked at the healer with pleading eyes. "That there is a chance she could really be healed?"

"The original problem will not go away, but if we can stabilize her, she might be able to go home."

Part of Severus' heart leapt, part of it knew it sounded to good to be true. "So, you want me to get her to promise not to use magic."

"She might listen to you where she won't listen to us."

"Then will you let me stay longer?" He knew what the answer would be, but he had to try.

"Not today." The healer was keenly aware of the boy's disappointment. "You mother's treatment consists of some very difficult counter magic. We do not allow anyone to be present during it. It can be quite, disturbing."

Severus wanted to protest. He wanted to tell the healer that there was very little that he found disturbing. If he knew what it would be like, he wouldn't think that. He agreed to help and go only because he knew it was what was best for his mother. "I hope she listens to me." The healer opened the door; she walked in followed by the boy.

"Hello Mrs. Snape," she spoke in her perky healer voice. "Look who's come to see you this afternoon."

Eileen smiled on seeing her son's face. "Sev - - they told me I couldn't have visitors today. I didn't expect - - "

"Don't worry Mum," Severus said before going to his mother's outstretched arms for a hug. He stayed kneeling next to the bed to talk to her. "You didn't think they'd be able to keep me out." Knowing they actually could, bothered him, but he wouldn't let that show in front of her.

"You were here yesterday, right?"

"Right." Severus turned away for a moment. "Good of you to remember." This simple statement made the woman so happy her face shone. Inside of himself Severus mulled over the unfairness of someone as young as his mother was should act as if she were twice even three times that age. Outside he was calm, and displayed maturity that surpassed his sixteen years. "Mum, do you remember why you are here?"

She nodded as her hand pushed his hair out of his eyes. "I'm not well." She didn't sound as if she were sure. "The healers mutter a lot of words and wave their wands over me a lot."

"They're trying to help you Mum."

"I'm a witch too you know."

This time Severus almost lost his composure. "Yes Mum I know."

"So I should be able to wave my wand and help myself."

"No Mum you can't do that."

"So they say."

"What's making you ill will only get worse if you try to do magic." He made sure she was paying attention and not wondering in her mind. "Do you remember that?"

"Yes, I remember." Showing the family stubbornness, she added, "Doesn't mean I like it."

"No, you don't have to like it. I don't like it. But you have to listen to them."

"Why?" Eileen became slightly agitated. "Who are they that I should listen to them."

"No one Mum, they're no one. But, you'd listen to me, wouldn't you?"

Eileen saw something she rarely saw in her son's face; hope.

"I want you to come home," the son asserted. "You can't come home until you are well. You won't get well if you continue to use magic."

"Sev, even you want me to stop using magic?"

"It's not what I want Mum. It's what has to be."

"Why do you want me to be like a muggle?" The word muggle was said in a tone that he had never heard his mother use.

"If that is what will make you well. If that's what will let you come home." This time Severus couldn't hold back his feelings. He was sniffing back tears. "Mum, I don't want you to die." He wasn't sure if this was the right thing to say, but he couldn't stop himself. "If you don't stop using magic, you're going to - - " He couldn't say the word a second time. "Don't leave me alone." Severus wanted to add, 'with him' but knew his father was a subject not to be breached. Not that she had ever been able to protect him much; her presence even in its dysfunctional state gave him an anchor to cling to. Some of his composure returned. He asked, "You want to get well, get out of here right?"

"Of course."

"Then promise me you won't try to use magic again. Let the healers do the magic."

Eileen looked as if she were being asked to do something indecent, or being asked to stop breathing. Severus had seen this look on her face many times before when she had been told by others many times before the same thing. This was the first time her son was asking her to 'promise' not to use magic. "All right Sev, I promise."

On hearing that promise the healer broke in telling Severus his visit had to come to an end. They were going to get some incantation muttering and wand waving done while the patient still remembered her promise. "Mr. Snape, it's time for you to leave." As she expected the boy shot her a look that if made into magic would have sent poisoned darts at her. "Keep your word as well."

Severus looked at his mother to let her know, "I have to go now Mum. I'll be back." He gave her a parting hug before standing to go.

His feelings towards Healer Burnbott were mixed. He resented being told to go as soon as he had done her dirty work, but he was hopeful that she and her colleagues could help his mother get back to something resembling normal. She did not endear herself to him when she added, "Make sure it is an appropriate time to visit the next time you arrive. If you try to barge in like you did today, I will speak to Dumbledore." Too mentally worn out to argue, Severus left without a word.

Dumbledore found his student waiting outside of the hospital when he returned for Snape. Thinking Severus would have wanted to spend every minute he could with his mother, this surprised the old wizard. The boy seemed to calm for there to be a problem with his mother, Dumbledore still asked, "Is something wrong Severus?"

Having calmed down over the last hour and half he'd been waiting Severus didn't rage about how stupid the hospital rules were. "She wasn't supposed to have visitors today."

Dumbledore felt for the boy. He wondered why things never seemed to work out for Snape. "I will speak to the administrator and get you in." He headed for the door.

"No need." Severus stopped him. "Someone else already did. I got to see her for a bit. The healers are doing their work." His anger was turned into sarcasm. "Can't have a useless kid hanging about during that."

"I dare say, useless is the last word I would use to describe yourself." Dumbledore declared, "I'd even say you might know a thing or two some of them don't."

"It doesn't matter, I'm only a kid, no one has any use for underaged wizards do they."

"Seeing that I have dedicated my life to the education of underaged wizards, you can see how I'd have to disagree."

"Disagree all you want, it doesn't change what everyone else thinks."

"Well, why don't we get going," Dumbledore changed the subject. Sev knew the routine by now; he took hold of Dumbledore's arm. "Wouldn't want to miss the game would we?"

Just as they apparated Severus muttered, "Speak for yourself." If Slytherin wasn't playing, he could care less. Dumbledore thinking he was being cleaver apparaed them right into the quidditch pitch. "You best go find a seat with your fellow students." This meant there would be no long lecture, so the boy was fairly happy to get out of the headmaster's sphere of influence.

Planning on going strait back to the Slytherin dorm, Severus ran into his two new friends.

"Hello Severus," Corona chimed out. "I was wondering if you were going to come watch the game."

"I actually wasn't."

Xeno was curious. "Then why are you here?"

"Not by choice."

"Well since you are here," Rona began.

Xeno finished, "You can sit with us."

"Really guys I - - "

"No arguing." Corona took one side and Xeno took the other leading Severus off to the Ravenclaw section of the crowd.

Severus protested, "Are you trying to get me killed?"

Rona was confident, "I'm sure they've forgotten all about that." She was wrong.

Despite the lecture Rona and Xeno had given them in the common room, many of the Ravenclaws were not happy to see Snape sitting in their section. Many a cry of "Why is 'he' here?" and "Get that Slytherin out of here," were heard.

"Oh, they've forgotten all about it," Sev sneered.

Both of his Ravenclaw friends looked a bit embarrassed. "Guess not," Corona said.

One of the older Ravenclaw prefects made his way over to the cause of all the excitement. "Solaris, Lovegood, what are you getting at bringing Snape here?"

"He's our friend," Rona defended.

"And he has every right to sit here as much as you do," Xeno pointed out.

The prefect has a scowl of his own. "All right you lot, just calm down and watch the game. Ignore these two's bad taste in friends."

"Do you see why I shouldn't be here," Severus asked so that only Rona and Xeno heard.

Corona asked a question of her own. "Do you see why you should stay?"

"Really Sev, you shouldn't let other people's opinions - - " Xeno was about to say 'make you do things you don't want to do,' but that was exactly what he and Rona had just done; made him stay when he wanted to go, but he knew that in reality Sev really wanted to stay, maybe. "You do want to watch the game with us, don't you?"

Seeing how they had stood up to him what else could he do but say, "Of course."

tbc


	20. Salt in the Wound

_The part where Sirius was banned from the rest of the 5th year Quiddich is in another story, but continued here._

They Call chapter 20

Salt in The Wound

As great as James Potter was, or thought he was, not having Sirius Black chasing did make a difference. It was not long into the game that Ravenclaw was up forty to nothing. "Come on Remus! James shouted at his friend each time Lupin missed the ring.

"Stop worrying about me," Remus shouted back. "Find the snitch."

Just as he said this, Ravenclaw scored another goal.

"Gryfindor loooooooosers!" It was Snape shouting at the top of his lungs. The Ravenclaw students sitting nearby gave odd glances in the Slythirin's direction.

"For someone who doesn't care about quidditch," Xenophilius commented. "You seem very enthused."

"Any time James Potter and his friends are gotten the best of, I'm enthused."

Having witnessed the incident with the photograph, Xen understood completely. Corona had seen that and more, but was still trying to understand her new friend. "So, it's not that you want our team to win, you want Gryfindor to lose."

"That about sums it up."

"Then why did you prank our team?"

"So you haven't forgotten about it either." Severus stood to leave.

"Don't be silly," Rona said. "I was just curious."

There was another ring and Ravenclaw was up another ten points. If Gryfindor was going to get slaughtered, maybe Snape would stay.

The snitch was doing its best to hide from both teams' seekers. Lupin managed to get the quaffle again, but his aim was as off as it had been the whole game.

"Maybe," Snape yelled out. "You should borrow Potter's glasses Lupin!"

"Um, Sev," Rona inquired, "Did you ever consider cheering for Ravenclaw rather than booing Gryfindor?"

Considering as his friend had asked him to led Severus to yell out, "Freeda! Knock the snot out of Potter!"

"That wasn't quite what I meant," Corona said to herself. Snape was still 'encouraging' Ravenclaw players; James Potter in particular.

"And here we thought Snape was trying to get us to lose," a Ravenclaw student a few seats away expressed to his housemates.

"Or maybe Slythrin House couldn't decide who would be easier to beat in the final," another one speculated.

Just then, the miracle happened. If it was due to Severus' egging on or what, Freeda knocked a bludger strait at James while he and the Ravenclaw seeker were both racing towards the snitch. In the time it took Potter to avoid being hit in the head was enough for the other seeker to grab the tiny flying ball. Ravenclaw had won. While the Gryfindor side of the stands sank dejectedly, the Ravenclaws went wild. They would be in the Quidditch final for the cup. Backs were slapped, even Snape's. Running on to the field, the majority of the winning house lifted their team's players up on shoulders and carried them back to the castle.

The Slytherin boy was so caught up in the Ravenclaws' victory that he went along with Corona and Xenophillius cheering as they filed out of the stadium. They were in the back of the crowd, but just as enthusiastic. On that walk back to the castle Severus began to wonder what it would have been like to have been sorted into Ravenclaw House; He would have never considered Gryfindor or Hufflepuff. Yet he knew deep within himself what his strengths were, they were all Slytherin. He knew plenty of people who had intelligence who didn't have the ambition enough to use it, and truth be told Snape liked being sneaky. He liked knowing things others did not. So he came to the conclusion that thought he liked his house the best, it felt good to know he had a few friends not from it. It gave him a sort of satisfied feeling that his Slytherin friendships did not. At that moment in time, Severus was genuinely happy. That was until on arriving at the entryway everyone saw what Sirius Black was up to during his ban from Quiddich.

All along the entrance hall, about every four feet were hung copies of the messed up photograph of Snape getting exploded. On the boarder above it said 'Ministry of Magic looking for: Snivelly Snake.' On the bottom it read, 'For leaving ruddy great gobs of grease all over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'

The emotional roller coaster Severus had been on was taking another huge dive. The Ravenclaws in the front of the crowd were too caught up in their revelry to take much notice of the posters. Some of the ones near the end pointed and laughed before continuing to celebrate. Sev, Rona, and Xen stood there staring at what was meant to be the picture for Snape's mother that had gone so wrong.

"I don't believe it," Xeno gasped out.

"We forgot to take it back from them when we went to look for you," Rona admitted. She has a worried expression on her face as if she could feel Sev's accusatory thoughts. "I didn't think even they could be that cruel."

"Wait till you know them longer," Severus said through gritted teeth. "You'll learn nothing is beyond them."

"They knew it was for - - " The young witch stopped realizing hr second mistake. "I am so sorry Severus. When I was yelling at them - - "

"I know," Severus broke in. "I heard that bit." When Corona tried to express regret again, he told her, "Stop apologizing. It's not your fault."

Most of the Ravenclaws had passed when the Gryfindor's were approaching. There was a sudden burst of energy in the entrance hall when Corona began tearing down the posters. "Good idea," Xeno said before joining her. Severus was still standing there stunned, then he started taking them down in the opposite direction. When he went around a corner what he saw stunned him even more. Lily was at the other end of this hallway pulling a stack of the posters out of Sirius' hands. For a moment that lasted an eternity, he felt as if he had been stabbed in the hart yet again by the 'sword of Gryfindor.'

Having pulled down all of the posters on that side of the corner, Xen and Rona were about to turn the corned when they could hear Lily Evans yelling at the top of her lungs, "Sirius Black, I swear if you do not take down every single one of those, I'll hex you like you've never been hexed before!"

"Take it easy Evans," Sirius joked. "Thought you were through defending Snivelly."

Snape had jumped back around the corner and flattened himself against the wall as if hiding. He wasn't listening to the rest. It was enough for Severus to know that Lily at least still cared about some things not happening to him.

"See," Corona whispered. "She still cares."

Snape acted as if he wasn't sure. "She'd do that no matter who it was."

"Do I look ridiculous hiding like this?" Severus put the telling question to his Ravenclaw friends. He really wanted to hex Sirius Black, but feared Lily would be caught in the crossfire.

"A bit," Xeno admitted. "Perhaps you should face him."

Rounding the corner Sev had intended to say something like, 'Nothing better to do with your free time?' Instead he regaled Black with another stream of obscenities. "Black you (Bleep) (Bleeping) pile of dung!"

In a voice so smug Black called out the words boys have came back with for years, "I know you are, but what am I?" Sirius was the first to reach for his wand, but Severus' was out a second later.

Before Corona and Xeno rounded the corner, Lily was shouting, "You two - - stop it now!"

"He started it," Snape sneered. "But now that it's one on one, I'm going to finish it." Severus rounded on Sirius.

"I'm a prefect," Lily roared. "There isn't going to be any dueling in the hallways."

"I'm perfectly willing to take this outside," Sirius proclaimed.

Severus was just as determined. "Likewise."

Before either of the boys could move Lily had her own wand out. "I'll hex the first one of you that moves." Both boys looked at the girl. "If I wasn't a prefect, I just might let Snape have a go at you Sirius." A look of glee grew on Severus' face. Lily walked over to Severus so only he could hear what she said. "You have got to stop reacting to his nonsense. It's exactly why he does it." She found one of the posters being pulled out of her hand.

"Not react to this?" Severus shook the picture in her face. "Do you know what this was supposed to be?"

"I'll make sure he takes them all down."

Sick of everything that had happened that day Snape didn't want to try any more. As much as he wanted to have Lily back, he didn't want to become her 'pity' friend. He would not tell her. Normally Lily would have been the first person he would have run to, to tell about what was going on with his mother. She had always been his confidant. Now he didn't know what she was. Instead of pleading for the return of their friendship he found himself growing out, "Do what ever makes you feel you're living up to Gryfindor House's superior morals." He turned on his heals and stormed off wondering why he had let those words slip past his lips.

Corona and Xeno stood ill at ease, looking at Lily. All of them having piles of the offensive poster in their hands. "Well," Rona quipped, "This is rather awkward."

Xen added, "I'm sure that Mr. Snape really does appreciate you taking these down."

Lily almost said something similar to what she had told Corona a few days ago, about how he didn't know Mr. Snape as well as she did. As an alternative she inquired, "Why was this picture taken?"

The two Ravenclaws looked at each other. They had already let the cat out of the bag to Severus' enemies, why shouldn't they tell his, all be it estranged, friend?

"Was it a joke?" Evans continued to ask. "Why is he all blown up? Who is he hexing?"

Rona had a question of her own, "Why can't you tell him you still care?"

"Who says I care about him?" Lily's indifferent act was wearing thin.

The Ravenclaw girl knew the Gryfindor one's pride was not going to let her admit what was so obvious. "Severus may be upset if I tell you, but I think you should know, his mother is at St. Mungo's. We wanted to take a picture of Severus to bring her. Two boys hid in the bushes and sent a blowing up curse at him as Xen took it. "I'll give you one guess as to who one of them was." She shot a dirty look at Sirius. "I think you can figure out who the other one was." That being said, handing over the rest of the posters to the girl prefect, the two Ravenclaws took their leave to go join their housemates in their celebrating.

Lily rounded on Sirius. "So James is in on this as well?"

Sirius knew how James felt about Lily. He knew she would just think he was covering for his best mate, but he had to tell her, "He actually told me it wasn't a good idea."

"But you went ahead and did it anyway."

"Come on Evans look at that picture, it just cries out to be used in such a brilliant joke."

"If you think this is brilliant - - Maybe you're the one who should have been sorted into Slytherin."

"Ouch Evans."

"You claim to hate the Slytherins and the dark arts, but your sick jokes are just as bad." Lily raised her wand and put an incendeo charm on the posters destroying them before the dejected Gryfindors beginning to file in could see any of them.

tbc


	21. Reflection

They Call chapter 21

Reflection

It had been another red-letter-day for Severus Snape. The only good thing that happened was his impressive Charms O.W.L. After that everything was downhill. Still burning with anger over Black's idea of a joke, still depressed about his mother, he didn't want to go back to the Slytherin dorms either. This meant that he began wondering the parts of the castle he was least likely to run into other people. Severus didn't even know what floor he was on. Wondering just where he was actually walking he noticed he was passing a large mirror. Mirrors were not Severus' friends, but what the saw briefly made him go back and look again.

His familiar short scrawny pale reflection with the face dominated by that nose and those black eyes was not there. In it's place was a tall trim but muscularly defined figure. The kid wearing his robes had a face that would make girls swoon; A normal sized nose; Blue-green eyes that exuded warmth; a clear tan complexion; chocolate colored wavy hair. He looked like someone most people would, trust on sight. While the real Severus' mouth went agape, the refection lifted his shirt out of his trousers to reveal six pack abs. The refection Snape winked, smiled, and swaggered.

Immediately the young wizard understood that this was some kind of magic mirror. He took another look, but his skeptical side would not let himself enjoy it. "Yeah right." Severus knew that magic could make impossible things happen, but not that impossible. No one was there to tell the boy that this mirror showed the looker their innermost desires, but if there had been he would have scoffed. He took another look at the 'buff' Snape in the mirror then snorted in disbelief, "Pa-lease."

If cynical boy had know this was his hearts desire, he would have felt shallow. He had spent his life trying to fight the stereotypes of appearances. If he could wave his wand and change into the boy in the mirror, would he? The truth of it was that he wouldn't. What he saw the first time he ever looked in the mirror of Erised was not a wish to change his appearance, but the wish that other people could see him like that. His deepest hearts desire at that age was that people would look beyond his exterior, and see what was inside; His true self, the one that was buried so deep even Severus didn't know he existed.

After an hour of wondering Snape felt like he could return to reality. Back down in the Slytherin common room the Regulus Black was the first face Severus saw. "It figures," Snape muttered under his breath. The look on his face was as sour as his mood.

Regulus couldn't miss that some of it was directed at him. He asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Your stupid brother."

A knowing look crossed Regulus' face. He never really understood his brother's obsession with teasing Snape. "What's he done now?"

Snape wasn't about to tell him if he didn't know. "It's not important."

"It was important enough for you to give me the evil eye when you came in here."

"forget that I have other news." Everyone that was in the common room aimed an eye and ear towards Snape. A wicked grin grew on Severus' face. "Gryfindor lost."

"We knew that already," one of the younger Slytherins put in. Snape wasn't the first one to bring the news nor the only one who had seen the game. Severus started to notice that his fellow fifth years were not around. He turned to their team's seeker and asked, "Where's - - " He was about to ask where his normal sidekicks were when he remembered. "Astronomy exam." The skinny boy was darting back out of the entryway of the Slytherin dorms and raced to the Astronomy tower. On arriving he slid into his place next to Rosier.

"We were wondering what happened to you," Evan whispered.

"Sidetracked," Was Sev's one word answer. It came none to soon as Professor Kayllem the Astronomy teacher began introduce the Ministry examiner who in turn handed out the exam parchments and the school telescopes they were to use to mark the stars in the sky's migration across the night for the next four hours. During the time they waited for the slow movements of the heavens to occur the examiner began to ask different students questions they should know by their fifth year.

Whey he got to Snape the young Slytherin had a feeling he already knew what question he would be asked.

"What are the names of the two hunting dog's of Orion?"

Not wanting to use the common name for them, Severus answered, "Canis Major and Canis Minor."

"For extra points can you tell me their familiar names?"

"You mean their - - vulgar names?"

"If you wish to put it that way."

"I do. The common name for Canis Minor is Procyon , the vulgar name for Canis Major is Sirius ."

"Very good Mr. Snape."

The examiner failed to hear what Severus said under his breath, "but it's true name is Dick." Nor had he seen the boy fill in 'The Dung Star' on his chart where it should have said 'The Dog Star.'

Maybe this bad day would be bookends of excellent O.W.L.s even if the rest stunk. It was a new day by the time they were all headed back to their designated dormitories.

"That wasn't so bad," Avery said with a tone of relief.

Wilks added, "Piece of cake."

"Easier than beating Hufflepuff will be," Snape put in his opinion.

Mulciber grunted. "You guys got all of them?"

"You didn't?" Rosier asked.

"Well, uh, no." His fellow Slytherin gave him sideways glances. "Don't matter, don't need to know where the ruddy stars are to hit bludgers." Mulciber was sure that if he didn't join, or even if he did join, you know who, he would be a professional Quidditch player.

"Too bad there isn't an O.W.L. for what you do best." Severus never missed a chance to rib even his friends when they left themselves wide open to it. All of his other roommates were looking at Snape. He knew what they were wondering; what was Mulciber good at? What did he do best? "Hitting things."

Mulciber wasn't even insulted by this statement. He seemed to puff up with pride. When they reached their room he wanted to display his talents. He stood over Regulus' dreaming figure slamming his right fist into his left palm. "Don't seem fair that Reg gets to sleep peacefully for hours while we had to take a test." Smack. Smack.

"Hang on there Cib," Rosier being the Quidditch captain wasn't concerned with Black other than the fact that he was their seeker. "We need him healthy for the games. Don't punch him."

"I need to punch something."

As a joke he didn't think Mulciber would take seriously, Rosier tossed out, "Hit Sev."

WHAM! The blow to Severus' bicep was like being hit by the whomping willow.

"What the - - " Snape was rubbing where he knew a bruise was forming.

"Wow, didn't think he'd really do it," Evan put forth. "but if it helps his game."

"I feel much better now," the hulk boy said before striping down and jumping into his bed.

Still giving Rosier a stinging look Snape hissed out, "Always glad to be of assistance." What he was thinking was 'you wait till after the last game.' What he didn't know was he might get help from an unlikely source sooner than that.

tbc


	22. It's a Dirty Job But Someone's Got to

They Call chapter 22

It's a Dirty Job, But Someone's Got to - - You Know

The chances of Hufflepuff beating Slytherin this year, or any other, were slim to none. That didn't mean that they wanted the opposition watching their practice. That didn't mean Severus wouldn't try to see what they were up to. He along with Mulciber and Avery looked out from the bottom of the bleacher banners where they lay trying to not be seen.

'Broomless wonder,' Snape remembered what the Ravenclaw players had told his friend that the Hufflepuffs called him. He thought of finding some termites to hide in the broom shed, but that might get to the Slytherin brooms as well. It would also look bad after loosing all those points for pranking the Ravenclaws. If anything happened to Hufflepuff now, he'd be the first suspect. That thought made him wonder if Potter and company might try something they could blame on him. There was less than a week left of school and they had all told Dumbledore they would leave each other alone. 'Yeah right.' Severus thought of what they had done to him since Dumbledore had told them to stay away from him. He also thought of how good the headmaster had been to him. Dumbledore had taken him to see his mother two more times since the time they would not let him in. Snape felt it really would be bad form to disappoint the man at this time.

Using muggle binoculars Severus watched the plays as Avery wrote them down. Why Mulciber was there was not clear other than the fact that these three hardly did anything without each other these days. The moose of a boy grabbed the binoculars out of Sev's hands. "Let me see."

Unfortunately for Snape the strap was still around his neck. A choking sound came from Snape before he wrenched them back. "Your strangling me you idiot," he wheezed out while thinking, 'If these are the Dark Lord's future Death Eaters, he's in trouble.'

"Oh wow," Avery said in admiration. "You just missed a spectacular dive by that Shennly girl."

"Well write it down anyway."

Near the end of the practice, Snape was focusing on the players when there was a large blob of blue and another one of black shown in the binocular lenses. Looking with his own eyes he could see that Professors Sprout and McGonagall had just sat on the benches in front of them giving the boys an unpleasantly close look at the part of their anatomies they were sitting on. All three Slytherins winced. It took all of their will not to shout out 'EWWW,' and give away their presence. They didn't dare move a muscle in fear they'd be caught spying on the team they were to play in a few days.

"I must admit," Minerva told her colleague. "Your team dose look rather good this year."

Pomona in turn asked, "Then why haven't we won a game this year?"

"Someone has to be in last place," McGonagall teased. "But wouldn't it be a surprise if you beat Slytherin and were in the finals."

"That would make me happy. Nothing against Horace, but those Slytherin boys are a particularly nasty bunch lately." What would she think if she knew three of those nasty Slytherin boys were inches away right underneath their very fannies at that very moment?

The fact that these two old lady teacher's bottoms were only a few layers of robes and about an inch and a half of wood away was too much for Avery to take. He was the first to panic. He crawled away not too quietly.

"What was that?" McGonagall thought she heard something under the bleachers.

"Probably a squirrel." Sprout explained, "I've been having problems with them in the greenhouses."

This satisfied the head of Gryffindor until Mulciber couldn't stay still any longer. He wanted to get away as quick as he could, but in doing so he hit his head on the very board the professors were sitting on. There were two cries of shock from the women and a lot more banging of Mulciber and Snape against the stands and themselves in their attempts not to be caught. McGonagall and Sprout's faces appeared in the space behind the board they had been sitting on.

"What," McGonagall bellowed. "Are you boys doing?"

Snape shoved the binoculars into Mulciber's hands. Mulciber shoved them back into Snape's. Snape pushed them back at Mulciber.

Professor McGonagall reached down and took them from both. "I'll be keeping a hold of those until the end of term. Whoever's they are can collect them then. Will one of you gentlemen answer my question, what are you doing under there?"

"I think the answer to that is fairly obvious," Snape couldn't help saying.

"I don't know Mr. Snape. It could be one of two things. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and say you have been spying on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and not that you two are a pair of little perverts."

The looks of disgust on the boy's faces further confirmed the first was the truth.

"Mr. Snape, Mr. Mulciber," Professor Sprout addressed. "You can join me in greenhouse number one a seven tonight."

The two Slytherins nodded. When both teachers bade them leave, they pushed at each other to get out of there as fast as they could.

"Well that went well," Severus snarked.

"You think so?" Mulciber was clueless. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

"Well it is time for dinner."

Severus shrugged. He didn't even want to argue with Mulciber. When they reached the great hall they found Avery already ploughing into the meal. Mulciber joined him while Snape grumbled, "So good to see how much you worried if we got caught or not."

"Muff muff muff," were the only sounds Severus could distinguish out of Avery's mouth. What was the use of complaining. He took his place at the Slytherin table right next to the two boys who were giving him a headache at the moment.

"What you _f_ink," Mulciber slobbered out the question through the chicken and potatoes he was eating. Sev had to turn his head to get the image out of his head while Mulciber continued, "Sprout will have us doing tonight?"

Before Snape could answer, Avery was asking, "What are you talking about?"

"Sev and me got detention with Professor Sprout in about an hour."

"Oh." Avery may have felt bad for about a second. "Have fun."

Severus looked back in the direction of his two friends to give them the most Snape-like look he could. "I'm sure it will be a blast." As soon as pudding appeared on the tables, he grabbed a half a dozen cookies and went to find a bit of solitude before detention with Sprout. When he reached the oak doors he found that he was being followed outside. To his relief it was Corona and Xenophillus.

"Severus," Corona called after him. "Wait."

Snape waited for them to catch up. He greeted, "Hi."

"Hi," both Ravenclaws sang out in return. "We were wondering - - " they both giggled at saying the exact same thing at the same time.

"Jinx," Sev said unconsciously.

"Jinx?" Xeno turned to make sure there was no one standing behind them.

"No, not that kind of jinx." Severus didn't know how to explain how he knew this fact, but he explained. "It's something muggle kids say when they say the same thing at the same time."

"Oh," Both of them said in unison again.

"Jinx," Rona caught on quicker than Xeno.

"Now you get to slug him in the arm."

"Why would I do that?"

"You'd have to ask a muggle," Severus covered. "That's what they do."

"Good think we're not muggles," Xeno said hopping his girlfriend wasn't about to punch him.

"Very good," Sev said not believing he had slipped like that. He would never have told any of his Slytherin friends anything like that. He still didn't want the Ravenclaws to know that he lived around muggles, or that he was a half-blood. He was glad when Corona changed the subject.

"We were wondering," she started. "If you want to try the picture again."

He hadn't seen them since the Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor game a few days ago, and the memory of what Black had done with the last attempt stuck in his mind. "I have detention in a few minutes."

"How about tomorrow?"

"If you're as busy as I am with O.W.L.s I don't know when."

"I'm determined that you will have a picture to give your mum."

"I know but - - " What was it that Xeno had said. There was no arguing with Corona. The look on her face was that of sheer determination. "Maybe the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is Slytherin Quidditch practice."

"If you're not on the team, why is that so important?"

"Because all of my Slytherin mates are on the team, and I help them out." He didn't go into detail of how he helped them out by putting barely legal charms on their brooms.

"All right then. The day after tomorrow. After O.W.L.'s. Wear the suit." It was the weirdest thing. She was bossing him around, but not being bossy. He would have never taken that from anyone. Not even Lily. When Lily had gotten bossy Sev dug his heals in even deeper. When Corona got bossy, no one could say no. "And try not to get a detention on the night of the dance."

"The dance?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You know there's a dance the night before we go home. And you are going."

"Okay okay," Snape said holding his hands up in submission. "I'm going. And I have to get going to my detention now." He waved and went off to greenhouse number one.

"See you," Xeno and Rona said together again.

"Jinx," Corona's voice could be heard as Severus walked away. It was followed by a slight, "Ouch." Had she actually punched Xeno? If she had it must have been a love tap. They were now laughing together the happy kind of laugh only people who love each other let out. The kind of laughs he and Lily used to giggle out. Severus decided he didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to go into detention until Mulciber so he lingered outside of the greenhouse. Again he found himself looking on Lily sitting by herself. When he saw her he stepped back so she wouldn't accuse her of stalking her yet again. He did however quietly sneak up to get a closer look and listen without being seen.

He knew something was wrong. Lily was crying. Why was Lily crying. He wanted to go over to her and put an arm around her and tell her not to cry. He had a feeling if he went within a foot of her, arm or not, she'd belt him, and it wouldn't be a love tap. He wondered what had happened to make her cry. He had no idea that she was crying because she was fighting her own urge to go to Severus and tell him she was sorry his mother was in the hospital. Her determination not to fall back on what she had said was the only thing keeping her from doing so. If Sev had gone over to the dark side, she couldn't be his friend no matter what. Even if his mother was in the hospital. Even if he needed her now more than ever. She couldn't. It still hurt. She wanted the old Sev back. She had convinced herself that he was gone forever.

Behind him Severus could hear the stomping of Mulciber on his way to detention. He was surprised it didn't disturb Lily, but she never looked up even though Severus had flattened himself against a tree in case she did look that way. She was still crying, trying to stop but not succeeding. Severus melted into the dark and made his way to detention with his heart aching. His head down looking like he was remorseful for the spying when Professor Sprout first saw him enter the greenhouse.

"Head up Mr. Snape," the teacher said. "You'll have to see what your doing tonight. You and Mr. Mulciber will be helping me with the _Pernicies Roere _plants tonight. There are quite a few of them."

Thinking of his Latin Severus wondered at the name of the plant. "Pest eater plants?"

"Exactly. If this were class instead of detention you might have earned your house some points."

"So what are we supposed to do? Put them out where those squirrels you were talking about are?"

The Herbology teacher laughed. "That would hardly be a detention now would it."

Neither of the Slytherin boys answered the rhetorical question. Sprout continued. "No the plants have already eaten the squirrels this morning. It will be you two's job to make them regurgitate."

Thought Mulciber looked just as disgusted as Snape, it was Severus who asked, "And why would we want to do that?"

"Because," Sprout said with two pleasant a tone. "The vomitus of the _Pernicies Roere _plant is dead useful."

Snape wasn't sure he wanted to hear how the vomit of a plant could be useful. Especially if that vomit was made of squirrels and Merlin knows what else. He was grateful she didn't go into details.

"Follow me boys." The head of Hufflepuff led the two Slytherin students to about two dozen of the same kind of plants with a large flower on top and swollen looking trunks. Severus could have sworn some of the victims were still squirming inside of them. "You can take the buckets from the wall to collect the vomitus."

"Just how," Sev wondered. "Are we to make them vomit."

"Well if I were you I certainly wouldn't put your finger down it's throat. You may find it will eat that too."

Mulciber finally said something. "Our arms aren't pests."

"No but the plant may find them very tasty if it gets close enough." Sprout was laughing again while she seemed to be fishing around for something. She came over to the two boys with long thin crystal sticks with a small round bobble on the end. "Just stick this down its throat and they'll do the rest." She started to walk away. "You'll need a bucket for about two each. On of you will have to hold the bucket under." She was walking further away. "I'll be back in a few hours to see how your getting along."

Severus look at the plant, then the crystal stick, and the buckets. He turned to Mulciber. "You hold the bucket."

tbc


	23. Aroma

They Call chapter 23

Aroma

It was close to curfew by the time Professor Sprout returned, as if she knew it would take the boys that long to finish the task set to them. Mulciber and Snape looked like wilted plants themselves by this time. They had started out trying to get done as quickly as possible, but the fumes from the disgusting material they were collecting made them slow down and take breathing breaks.

"Not so pleasant is it?" Sprout queried. "I hope this will keep you two from lurking under the bleachers, and not spying on practices that are supposed to be closed."

The boys mumbled in unison, "Yes Professor Sprout."

With a shake of her head she said, "Off with you then." The Slytherins bolted for the door. "And it's strait to your dorms too."

Strait to the Slytherin common room is where they went. On arriving they found that Avery was getting all the glory of being the one to have the notebook full of Hufflepuff plays. "This is going to help us knock those Badgers into the dust," Rosier praised. "Not that we wouldn't anyway."

"Anything for the team," Avery sleazed. "I'd face any - - " He didn't finish his statement as he saw Snape and Mulciber standing in the passageway looking very cross.

"Anything but a detention," Snape announced.

"Sev - - Cib - - " Avery greeted nervously.

"It's about time you two showed up," Rosier broke in. "Which one of you had my spyglasses?"

"McGonagall," Severus said.

"McGonagall? Why does she have them."

"Because they got caught," Avery told, getting braver.

"The only reason we got caught was because this twit panicked and gave away our presence," Severus snarled. He and Mulciber rounded on Avery.

Before they reached Avery, Regulus stood from one of the chairs he'd been studying in to ask, "What is that horrid smell?"

"A present for Avery," Mulciber said as he reached into his pocket. Something wet and slimy hit Avery in the face. "Since he couldn't join us in detention."

"Guys!" Avery spouted as Snape approached looking as if he were going to do the same.

"What is it with you three and things that smell," Regulus asked rhetorically as Severus actually did slap some slimy goo on the back of Avery's neck.

"What is that crap?" Rosier wanted to know. It was assaulting his nose as well.

"Plant vomit," Mulciber admitted. Snape would have been happy to let Avery wonder. Avery was now doing a sort of jig as if to get away from his own skin.

"You Guys," Avery moaned as he ran to the showers.

Pulling rank as Quidditch captain, therefore in charge of their room, Rosier instructed, "I suggest you two do the same. I sure as heck don't want to smell that all night." They didn't argue.

Slughorn's own quarters being right next to the boy's showers he wondered why he was hearing them this late. While going to investigate the noise Avery was making, the professor ran into Snape and Mulciber. One whiff told him what the problem was, _"Pernicies Roere?" _Only one of the boys nodded, Mulciber didn't remember the name of the plant. "What class would that be for? I don't recall any fifth year classes that use that repulsive plant."

Again Severus was the one to reply, "No class Sir." This honesty made Mulciber wince. "Detention."

"And why did you two have detention with, Professor Sprout I take it?"

"Yes Sir, we were spying on the Hufflepuff team, and - - "

"ah, I see." Severus wasn't stupid in being honest. He knew that the head of Slytherin wouldn't mind that they were trying to help. He was right. "Carry on then."

Seeing his two friends entering the boy's showering room, Avery yelled out, "Don't you two come anywhere near me!" With that he threw a wet bar of soap at them.

"Hey!" It was Mulciber who was yelling. "You could have hit one of us!"

He hadn't noticed Severus holding his nose. "Could have hit one of us?" Snape's already large proboscis was beginning to swell already. Both of the other boys cringed as the side of Severus' nose that had been hit looked like an egg was growing on it. Snape instinctively grabbed a face cloth off the fluffy pile of towels always left by the house elves and ran cold water over it, and it over his nose.

Avery timidly asked, "It's, not broke is it?"

"You are damn lucky it isn't," Snape growled. "It bloody well hurts though."

"Sorry Sev, I really didn't mean to - - "

"Oh save it. You never mean to do most of the things you do."

The other two boys continued to look on as Snape looked in the mirror and poked at the thing growing on his face. Avery quickly exited the shower he had been occupying wrapped in his towel, grabbed his dirty clothes, and made a quick exit. "I'm really sorry Sev."

After Avery had left, Mulciber even said, "He's really sorry Sev."

"He's going to be sorrier," Snape snarled.

"Well whatever you're going to do to him, don't do it until Quidditch is over." Mulciber took a large towel and headed for one of the showers as Snape continued to bathe his poor nose in cold compresses. A quick wash up later Mulciber was wrapped in his own towel, gingerly holding his smelly clothes, and going out the door.

"Nice to know you care more about that stupid game than my face," Severus grumbled out loud though his friend was not there to hear it.

Back in the dorm room shared by all but one of the Quidditch team and Snape, Rosier and Wilks were already complaining about the stink from Avery and Mulciber's clothing.

"Yuck," Wilks voiced while pinching his nose and waving in Mulciber's direction. "I'll never get any sleep."

"Come on guys," Rosier begged. "You've got to do something about that smell."

"It's too late to go to the laundry," Mulciber protested.

"Then get a bloody house elf to take care of it."

"My mum and dad would have a fit if I called our elf here at this hour."

"You only have one house elf?"

"Well we can't all be in the same league as the Malfoy's."

Not even taking the insult, Rosier put forth, "Luckily, my family is." He then began calling out, "Ponscum! Ponscum, dorms this instant!"

A few seconds later there was the sound of a house elf apparating. A very, very old and decrepit house elf was now at the foot of Rosier's bed asking, "You called Master Evan?"

"Yes I did Ponscum."

"Your elf's name is Pond Scum?" When Avery asked this, he Mulciber and Wilks laughed hysterically.

"No!" Rosier snapped. "His name is not Pond Scum, it's Ponscum; one word. I inherited him from my grandfather. So if you want your smelly clothes washed, you had best not say anything further about it."

"You're the one who called the elf here in the first place. It's not our fault your grandfather couldn't figure out people might mistake Ponscum for Pond Scum."

Rosier wasn't sure if he should reinforce that he was the top dog of the Slytherin's now.

The elf himself was looking rather scandalized that these boys thought his name was Pond Scum. He figured he had best find out why he'd been called at such a late hour. "Master Evan?" He pawed at the boys blanket. "What is it that you'd be wanting, Sir?"

"I'd be wanting - - " Rosier had to stop himself from repeating the house elf's speech pattern. "I want you to take Mister Mulciber and Mister Avery's clothes that stink of plant vomit and go wash them."

The elf took a whiff. "They certainly do smell, well uh, ripe, Sir. You'd be wanting that right now Master Evan?"

"Yes, right now. I can't sleep with that smell in the room."

Had the elf known any better he'd be back mouthing, 'so you woke me up?' or 'so we house elves in the kitchen will have to smell it.' Being a typical house elf, Ponscum obeyed gladly. "With pleasure Master Evan, with pleasure."

When Ponscum apparated away, the smell went with him, thought not as quickly. Just as the scent was faint enough for the boys to fall asleep, Severus entered the room with his smelly clothes. Before he could get out of his towel and into his shorts, his roommates were complaining. "ugg," Wilks was the first to groan. Mulciber and Avery made similar sounds of disparage. Lastly Rosier awoke with, "not again," on his lips.

"You better call Ponscum back," Wilks suggests.

"Pond Scum?" Snape questioned.

Mulciber explained, "Evan's house elf took our smelly things to get clean so we wouldn't have to smell them all night."

Before Severus could question any further, Rosier was again calling for the elf. The tired looking elf reappeared pleading, "I'm sorry Master Evan, the clothes are not ready yet." His nose told him that this might not be the reason he was called back.

"Ponscum, I want you to take Mister Snape's clothes to be cleaned as well."

"Yes Master Evan." The elf grabbed the other boy's clothes. "Of course Master Evan."

"Pond Scum?" Snape questioned once the elf was away. Again the other boys were guffawing at the elf's name.

"It's not Pond Scum!" Rosier protested once again. "It's Ponscum."

The elf hearing his name in his head again returned a little bit perturbed. "What now Master Evan?"

"Nothing." Rosier added, "Sorry."

The elf was gone again but there was no sleep for the boys just yet. Snape put a light on. This garnered more groans of protest until the saw the large red bulge that had swollen up on Snape's face. What had been the size of a chicken egg was now the size of a goose egg. Before it could make its way to ostrich size, Snape found an anti-swelling potion among his collection to apply to it. Severus could feel it go down, as his friends could see it. He shut the light, climbing into bed, believing that was the end of it.

The sounds his roommates made in the morning outdid any of their protests the night before. Severus awoke to Avery asking, "Whoa Sev, what did that potion do to your face?"

"Potion," Severus growled. "It was your stupid bar of soap . . ." He stopped short as he looked into the room's mirror and saw not the red egg shape between his nose and cheek, but a large eggplant black purple bruise covering the whole area making him look like he had been in the rows to end all rows. "Merlin's - - "

tbc


	24. Practice Makes Perfect

They Call

Chapter 24

The matron in training, Miss. Pomfrey, couldn't believe who was coming through the door of the hospital wing. "You again."

"Me again," Severus retorted.

The young caregiver pushed the boy's hair out of his face, and pushed his face to the light so she could get a good look at the injury. "So where's the other one?"

"Other one?"

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Or whichever Gryffindor you've been brawling with." Poppy remembered what the matron had said after the two boys had left almost a dozen days ago; 'We'll be seeing them again.'

"I haven't been brawling with anyone." Snape flicked his head out of her grasp.

The nurse began to rummage through potions in a cabinet. "Oh, that whopper of a bruise just magically attached itself to your face."

"I just want something to remove it." A potion bottle was opened. A small amount of the thick rust colored liquid was added to a clump of cotton. When it came into contact with Severus' face the boy jumped back shouting, "What the hell is that crap, it's burning off my face."

"Language young man," Poppy rebuked. "It is not burning your face off." Severus was still holding his hands over the bruise. "Let me see." The response she gave did not invite confidence. "Oh dear. I'd best get Matron."

Thinking the worst, Severus looked into the closest looking glass to see he not only had a bruise now, the purple area on his face now had blisters all over it. Before he could panic, the matron was examining his face much as her junior had. "Tisk, tisk. Mr. Snape you should have told Miss. Pomfrey you used one of your own concoctions on your face."

"She never asked, and my potions are not concoctions."

The older nurse made a disparaging sound as she looked through their supplies. She handed the younger nurse a bottle. "This should get rid of the blisters." She handed a second one. "Put this on after and the bruise will be gone in four days."

"four days," their young patient moaned.

"Four days Mr. Snape. If you don't like that, remember it the next time you get into a fight."

"I wasn't fighting." The disparaging noise was made again before the Matron walked away. Snape and Poppy stood there looking at each other. "I wasn't."

Poppy began to apply the first potion to Severus' face. "Then how did you get this?"

"My friend threw a bar of soap at me."

"Some friend." She was pouring more of the solution onto the cotton. After she put more on the blisters she watched to see if they were going away. "That's done the trick."

The boy looked in the mirror again. "There's really nothing that can get rid of this faster?"

"If you hadn't put what every you put on it first, maybe."

"I only put an anti-swelling potion on it."

"Anti-Swelling? Why would you put that on a bruise?"

"It wasn't a bruise then."

"I see." The fade-potion was put on after there was no trace of the blisters. "I'm afraid this is the best we can do." Seeing the look on the student's face made Poppy say, "It's not that terrible. In four days you'll never know it was there." The boy didn't change his expression. "The dance is a while after that."

Snape's brows were furrowing. "That isn't why I want it gone." If a snake could speak English, that was what it would sound like. Before the matron in training could inquire further, Snape was out the door.

'What a nasty disposition that boy has,' Poppy thought as she put away the potions.

The entirety of the day Severus kept his head down lower than usual to hide the bruise on his face. The reactions to it when people saw it varied. Some cringed as if they were in pain. Some looked as if they were grossed out by it. Others, mostly the marauders, had wisecracks to make about it.

"Hey Snivelly, trying to grow a second nose?" Black was the first to chime in.

Potter added, "No, he's trying to distract us from his nose by making us look at that disgusting thing next to it."

Every time he heard one of the girls say, "Eww," Severus wanted to go back to the dorms and stay there until the bruise went away. He knew that was not a possibility. There would be no skipping of classes or exams for him. Throughout the day Severus was careful to keep his hair covering the bruise as much as possible. He also had his head lower than usual.

Seeing Severus walking with his head down had not been unusual to Rona and Xeno in the days they had befriended him. To both of them when they saw him this day, it was worse than ever.

"Hey Sev," it was Xeno who called out. "Wait up."

Not being used to hearing the diminutive of his name called out in the school's hallways, Snape looked around for an attack. Two seconds later he realized it was his friends. He didn't really want them to see his face any more than he wanted the others to see it. He stopped but kept his head down and the hair concealing the side of his face where the bruise was.

"What's wrong Severus?" Rona asked. "Nothing's happened to your mother, has it?"

No," Sev mumbled. "Nothing like that." He was going to have to show them eventually so he flipped back the wing of black hair to reveal the hideous blotch. "Just this." The Slytherin boy was almost amused by the very audible gasp that came from the two Ravenclaws. "Guess that photograph is on hold," Snape joked.

"Who did that to you?" Corona asked, enraged. "Was it those Gryffindors? Do the teachers know?"

"I wish I could blame it on them, but it was an accident. Sort of."

"Accident?"

"A housemate of mine threw a bar of soap. My nose got in the way."

"There must be some hefty bars of soap in the Slytherin showers," Xeno thought out loud. "That's a whale of a shiner."

Severus wasn't sure if he should tell them the rest. Something about these two brought out his honest side. "That's because of the potions."

"Potions?" Both asked.

"I used one, then Miss. Poppy used one that didn't match. Then Matron fixed it."

Xeno pointed out, "That doesn't looked fixed to me."

"It should be gone in a few days." Severus had left the door open for what Xeno said next.

"Then you can still pose for that picture for your mum in a few days?"

Snape nodded before excusing himself. "Got to get to my exam."

Corona and Xenophilius were almost late for their own exams, so all of them hurried off it their own directions.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxxxX

Madam Hooch had been waiting for the Slytherin Quidditch practice. The Headmaster thought it might be a good idea to preempt any retaliation for the prank against Ravenclaw. 'Not a punctual bunch,' she thought right before she saw a lone figure appear at the edge of the pitch. It was an odd sight. She blinked, as what she thought she saw was a Quidditch ball storage chest that had sprouted skinny legs. It also appeared to be walking like a drunken sailor. When it fell over and the scrawny Snape boy landed on top of it, Hooch understood. A few minutes of watching Severus struggle to drag the chest to the middle of the pitch, and seeing the shiner on his face, made her take pity on the boy.

"Good grief Mr. Snape," she belted out as she trotted towards him. "It's not a box car." Hooch grabbed one handle and directed, "Get the other one."

Severus did as suggested. Madam Hooch practically pulled him along with the chest to its assigned place. She turned to give the Slytherin a stern look with her hawk like eyes. "Mr. Snape, tell me why I should allow you to even set foot on this pitch after the last two stunts you've pulled?" She must have heard about his and Mulciber's spying. "From the looks of you, someone's gotten you back."

Ignoring the last statement Severus said the obvious, "Our house team has practice today."

"So?"

As if stating the obvious Severus slowly said, "I have to take care of . . . Stuff."

"Yes, I've heard about how you take care of, as you say, stuff." Another look of disapproval was shot Snape's way.

"It's nothing against the rules."

"No, it isn't. I still don't care for that kind of thing. Flying is an inborn talent."

The young wizard knew this was a dig at the fact that he did not have that inborn talent. Madam Hooch had not been the flying instructor in hi s first year, but Severus' failures at broomstick flying were legendary at Hogwarts. Thankfully the team showed up and Hooch's cross examination ended.

Professor Slughorn had told his Slytherin's practice without Snape's specialties. That way they would not become accustom to the help of the charms. That way it would give an already good team an extra edge. A minute after arriving the Slytherin team took to the sky above the pitch. Rosier called out to their man on the ground, "Alright Snape, let them loose and get out of the way."

The Snitch, the Bludgers and the Quaffle were up and Sev was scooting towards the wall of the spectator stands. Behind him he could hear Evan yelling out, "Blue Dragon play." He turned to lean against that wall as the team moved out into the starting positions of this play and Severus watched as they passed the Quaffle while performing acrobatics of the broom he could only imagine pulling off. As he watched that is what he did. Snape imagined he was coordinated enough to carry the Quaffle past all defenders and throw like a cannon through the goal. He imagined he was both Chaser and Seeker. His eagle eyes could find the Snitch even as he made his hundredth goal. Like a panther closing in on its prey, he would pursue the tiny winged ball right past James Potter, catch it, and land perfectly in the center of the pitch while Potter crashed into the stands. A crowd would rush onto the field, led by Lily. She would reach him first, kiss him, and declare her undying love for him. All of the Slytherin, no the entire school would cheer Severus as the most accomplished Quidditch player of all time. They would carry him off on their shoulders he would hoist the Quidditch cup in triumph.

Nowhere else but in Severus' imaginings could any of that ever take place. He knew it too. Severus may have been horrible at Quidditch. He may have lost Lily forever, the entire school might revile him, but one thing he was good at was imagining. He'd had to be good at imagining. Nothing good ever happened to him any other way.

Reality came soaring back to Snape in the form of the voices of all of the Slytherin Quidditch team yelling at him. "Snape move! Look out Sev! Bludger headed your way! Move, move, move." Severus became aware of the Bludger soaring right for his head just in time to throw himself face down on the dirt warning-track between the grass and the wall of the pitch. The Bludger kept going, smashing right through the wood of the wall where Snape's face had been only seconds before. They could hear it banging around under the stands before it flew out into play again. Feeling safe Severus stood, the front of his clothes covered in dust.

"Sorry 'bout that," Mulciber called down. He had been the one who had hit the Bludger in Sev's direction. If Snape didn't know how thick his friend was, he might wonder if it hadn't been on purpose.

tbc


	25. Get Up Stand Up

They Call

Chapter 25

Get Up Stand Up

Transfiguration O.W.L. exam; Just the thought of it sent a chill up Severus' back. It wasn't that he couldn't do the spells. It was McGonagall. The woman always put him on edge, and when he was on edge he tended to flub things up. One of his first memories of that professor was during his first transfiguration class.

_"Mr. Snape is it?" Minerva stood in front of the first year's desk. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't make faces while I am teaching."_

_The confused boy doesn't yet know it is best to keep silent. "I wasn't making faces." He didn't know he had been, not with any intention behind it. Unlike the older version of himself, the younger Snape wore his thoughts on his face's expression. It could be read like a book. The only remnants of this habit was his sneer. _

"_I saw you making faces young man, so don't contradict me." She turns back to the board she had been writing on._

_Determined to be right, Severus doesn't stop. "I was not."_

_Not happy with the student's stubbornness McGonagall's chalk stops mid-letter. "Perhaps an essay on proper student behavior towards professors focusing on not making rude faces behind their backs, and not mouthing off will keep you from performing both actions?"_

"_Perhaps," Severus seems contrite, but he is contrary. "If I were actually doing either of those things."_

_There is a tittering of laughs, not only from the Slytherins. This time he is smiling on purpose. The transfiguration professor senses she will loose the class to disrespectfulness if she does not stop this little rebel from the start. Severus feels the collar of his shirt being gripped and the angry teacher drags him out to the hall. "Let's see how funny you think it is when you can not return to this class until you have a note from the headmaster explaining that he has explained to you that here at Hogwarts we do not put up with such cheekiness."_

_The stunned eleven year old stands in the corridor a few minutes before he digests what has just happened. _

There have been more than one contest of will power between the two in the five years since, including the exchange between them after his Charms exam. Each one is a bone stuck in Snape's craw. He mull over all of them as he walks to the Great Hall for the exam. 'Yup, there she is,' he thought on seeing Professor McGonagall at the front of the exam area. She stood there looking as stern as ever as the students filed into the room converted for the O.W.L.s. She watched Severus move to the safety of the Slytherin section of desks. Then Minerva pounced. Seeing her make a beeline right towards him, Severus wanted to disappear.

"Mr. Snape," McGonagall chimed. "Open up your book bag."

There was no 'will you please' on either side of the statement. It was not a request, it was an order. An order Severus resented. "Why should I?"

"Because I have told you to."

With a scowl covering his face, Severus did as he was told.

"Empty its contents." McGonagall thought she heard the boy growl while he pulled out ink, quills, and blank parchment.

"There, satisfied." She riffled through the parchment examining it for crib notes. There was nothing in the satchel that shouldn't have been there. "Think I'd be stupid enough to put the book in there?"

"Would you care to tell me where you did put it?"

Minerva had left herself wide open for what Severus said next. "No, but I'd like to tell you where to put it."

"MR. SNAPE!" The teacher looked back at the student. Both faces were etched with dislike for the other.

Before McGonagall could threaten to throw him out of the exam, if not the school, Snape snarled out, "You think I'm going to cheat. You always accuse me of doing things I'm not!" Then he outright yelled, "Why don't you ask one of our precious Gryffindors to empty their book bags?" A glare and a pointing finger went in the marauders' direction. From the other Slytherin there was a spontaneous, "YEAH!" There were a few who asked, "Why doesn't she?" Then the began chanting, "Take a look! Take a look!" At the same time they pounded out a rhythm on their desks.

A huge amount of Slytherin pride was welling up in Severus' heart. His house was standing up for him. He joined them in their cry of, "Take a look. Take a look."

Professor McGonagall was flabbergasted. She had never faced an out an out uprising like this before, even from the Slytherins. "Silence," she called out in her most commanding, but calm voice. This was not enough this time. "Calm down." She kept trying to control the situation, but the Slytherins, tired of her obvious bias against them had had enough. The chanting continued. The tone of Minerva's voice grew louder, but no more effective. The only thing that quieted them down was the headmaster's appearance.

"What is going on in here?" Dumbledore's voice was enough to silence the insurrection.

The students looked cowed until Olive Chervil, one of the scholarly Slytherin students spoke up. "Headmaster, Professor McGonagall is always singling out Slytherins to humiliate. She made Snape empty out his book bag to see if he might try to cheat, but she won't do the same to a Gryffindor."

Dumbledore shot McGonagall a knowing glance and rolled his eyes. He knew her prejudices were real, and that there was a reason, but he also knew that the Slytherin girl was right. "You want Professor McGonagall to search a Gryffindor's book bag to see if they might be cheating?"

A collective "yes" arose from the Slytherins.

"Despite your ill-mannered outburst, I am inclined to agree." Most of the students of all houses weren't sure they'd heard correctly. McGonagall looked at him as if he'd grown a second or third head. "Minerva would you mind . . ." Dumbledore gestured to where the Gryffindors were gathered. "Taking a look at the book bag of one of your own house?"

"I would mind," McGonagall indicated. "But, I will defer to you Headmaster." She waved one of her students forward. "Mr. Potter if you would, kindly show us the contents of your book bag."

James began to comply with the head of Gryffindor's request. Before Potter could even open the bag, Snape boldly spat out, "No, Pettigrew's." Everyone looked towards Severus. He would have loved to see something embarrassing found inside of Potter's bag, but he knew Peter was more likely to need to cheat. All eyes including Snape's went to Dumbledore to see what he would do.

"Yes, it should be Mr. Pettigrew." Dumbledore surprised everyone with this statement.

"Headmaster, I must protest," McGonagall argued. "Are we to be dictated by disrespectful students now?"

"Humor me."

The Slytherins wondered if Dumbledore's actions were genuine or just to placate all of them.

"Potter you may sit back down," McGonagall told. "Mr. Pettigrew, your bag."

"M-m-my bag?" Wormtail was nervous. He had giggled enough when Snape's bag was riffled through. He emptied it hoping they wouldn't examine the contents too carefully. To his misfortune, the item he wanted to conceal fell right on the floor. Between empty parchment he had hidden a cheat sheet. Now it lay there for all to see. Peter wasn't clever enough to think of invisible ink. This time even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws in the exam joined in the Slytherin's calls of "Cheat! Cheat!" The only ones who didn't say a word were the Gryffindors who watched as the headmaster escorted one of theirs out of the exam.

When things calmed down and the exam began, Potter and Black were sending spiteful looks in Snape's direction. Severus knew he was in for it, but it had been worth seeing a Gryffindor, a marauder at that, getting in trouble for once. There was an added bonus to what had happened, not even McGonagall's sour looks made him nervous throughout the test. When it was over he was sure he had at least pulled off an Exceeds Expectations in a subject he had only hopes of an Acceptable. He wasn't so sure he'd be able to get out of the Great Hall without running into Potter and Black. Predictably, they were waiting for Snape outside.

"Sirius, don't be stupid," Lupin's voice could be heard warning. "Let it go."

"Let it go?" Sirius was angry. "If Snivelly had done something to you, do you think Peter would forget it?"

Remus looked dazed. "I'm not forgetting about it. I'm saying getting back at Snape isn't worth it. Besides, we did warn Peter not to bring the study sheets into the exam."

James entered the conversation by asking, "How do you think Snivellus knew he had them?"

"Wouldn't take a genius to figure that out," Sirius pointed out the obvious. "But in Snivelly's case, I'd say, lucky guess."

Unlike his older self, the younger Snape was quite impulsive. "Lucky guess Black," Severus challenged. "Is that how you're taking all of your O.W.L.s?"

If there was anything Severus had learned from having Tobias Snape as a father, it was when to run. This was one of those times. Sirius had instantly lunged for the other boy and had no intention of stopping until he had gotten a hold of Snape. Black may have been the taller, stronger, and more 'athletic' of the two boys, but the skinnier one was quick and agile. One thing Snape had a lot of practice at was escaping from someone chasing him.

Through the crowded halls they wove between their fellow students. Severus jumped on, over, and through the different fixtures of the castle's lower floor to get away from Sirius. Black was zeroing in on Snape like a heat seeking missile, but he was no closer to catching him. While feverishly looking for a way to ditch his pursuer, Severus saw a way to get outside. In two bounds he was through one of the façade's tracery windows leading to the courtyard. Sirius had no trouble following. When Black got to the other side, he saw Snape's escape was blocked by James Potter whose wand was trained on Severus. It appeared that once again Snape had been disarmed and his wand made a splash into the center fountain.

"Knew I could count on you James," Sirius praised.

In return Potter remarked, "You know I've always got your back."

A moment later an out of breath Lupin arrived, adding his wand to the two already pointed at Severus. Three wands pointed at him, Snape braced for what he knew he was in for. There were no other Slytherins around, but to his surprise, he heard a voice defending him.

"I say, three against one. That's not very fair." It was Xenophillius.

Stowing his wand, Sirius informed, "It's only going to be one on one. My friends are just going to make sure greasy doesn't get away."

Severus kept eyeing where his wand had landed in the fountain. Sirius took notice. "Want that back do you Snivelly?" The bully scuffed the front of Severus' robes. "Let me give you a hand." The Gryffindor dragged the Slytherin over to the fountain.

Before Black could go any further, Xeno was demanding, "I insist that you release Mr. Snape at once Mr. Black." It didn't work. Next thing being that Snape was now 'bobbing' for his wand in the fountain with Black's 'assistance.' Xeno boldly tapped Sirius on the shoulder and started to speak again, "I say . . " Sirius took this as an attack, let go of Severus, and grabbed Xeno.

As soon as he had felt himself freed from Black's grasp, Severus pulled his head out of the water. While he sputtered he could hear Black warning, "Look Cross-eyes, mind your own business."

"I say, that's uncalled for."

Sirius shook Xeno. "Listen Lovegood, I know you don't approve of the Dark Arts, so why are you putting your nose in where it doesn't belong."

"Because, he's MY friend," Severus hissed. There was a loud WHACK followed by a long GASP. Severus had actually belted Sirius up side the head. "Leave him alone."

Rather than hexing Snape, James and Remus ran to Sirius who was on the ground writhing in pain holding on to his ear. Severus was about to kick Black on the other side of his head when Xeno stopped him, "Sev no, that's enough."

Sirius was sitting up. Still dazed he snarled at Severus, "You little shite!" Indeed blood was on the hand that had been up to his ear. Wands were pointed in all directions. Snape had retrieved his just in time. "I say," the Ravenclaw boy was saying again. "This is getting a bit out of hand."

"I couldn't have put it better myself." It was Dumbledore. "Mr. Black, let's get you to the hospital wing."

"What are you going to do about him?" Black asked while pointing angrily at Snape.

"Don't push it Mr. Black." The headmaster was being looked at by all of the marauders wondering why he was on Snape's side. "Don't think I didn't see you try to drown Mr. Snape. I'd say you're even."

Severus couldn't believe his ears. "I have already warned you all. This nonsense has to stop."

tbc


	26. Situation Normal

They Call

Chapter 26

Situation Normal

The Headmaster did some quick wand work to remove the blood from Sirius' face, but it was James and Remus he addressed his words to. "You two bring him to the hospital wing to make sure there isn't anything else going on up there. I will be there shortly."

None of the boys were sure if he meant to see how Black was doing, or to dole out punishments. Either way they all knew Severus was going to be dealt with first. This put a smile on Sirius' face. Black walked away flanked by two of his three best friends, holding onto his ear for effect; it didn't really hurt anymore. After a safe distance, for good measure, he shot back "Hope you kick his sorry ass out of here for good."

A look from Dumbledore was all it took for Sirius to turn back to the direction they were heading in. The old wizard stood for a while pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes shut in contemplation. It was obvious to the two boys who remained that the Headmaster was thinking about what to do next. Severus took the initiative and put his thoughts out in the air. "So, is that what you're going to do?"

Dumbledore's eyes opened up to see a defiant look on Snape's face, while there was a confused one on Lovegood's. He remained silent.

"Kick my sorry ass out of here for good. Solve all your problems; let the celebrating begin?"

Annoyed and sympathetic at the same time the boy's name was all the old man said, "Severus . . ."

Xeno's eyes were darting back and forth between the Headmaster and his Slytherin friend. He didn't know that this face off behavior was part of the dynamics of their relationship towards each other. It had always been push pull, love hate between these two. The boy wishing but never admitting he would have rather have had him as a father than what he had. The old man feeling sympathetic but knowing he couldn't adopt every wayward child that passed through the doors of Hogwarts. An image of Sirius and Severus under the same roof with him made Dumbledore shiver. He was thinking about sending Sirius back to the Blacks before the end of term, but he couldn't bring himself to send Severus back to Tobias any sooner than necessary. "No, I intend on keeping your sorry ass right here." The look of shock on both boy's faces was priceless. "If you don't go around planning to kick any other students in the head." Severus' head lowered. "You're not intending on that are you?"

"No," Sev mumbled.

"Good." With this last word Dumbledore walked off. He knew Severus would do enough self chastising to keep the boy in line.

Xeno's eyes were still darting around as he tried to figure out what had just happened. He wasn't sure how he should feel about the rescue of his face from what surely would have been a 'black' eye. Even more than Severus, Xenopillius was not one to resort t the physical to solve problems. The Ravenclaw boy was more likely to joke or talk his way out of tricky situations, and truth be told, he would if pushed to his limit, his final resort would be to back down first. Lovegood had seen the look the Headmaster had given Snape before he'd left. It was as stern a look he had ever seen Dumbledore give anyone. He also noticed how much this had shook Severus, though the Slytherin boy tried to hide it. Sev's head was lowered, water was still dripped off his hair, and he had not moved. When Sev hadn't moved even a little while longer Xeno asked, "Sev, you're not injured, are you?"

"No," was the somber answer that Xeno didn't seem to hear.

"If so, you should let someone know."

"I said I was all right," Severus snapped. The other young wizard was wondering why Snape was snapping at him. Hadn't Severus just told Sirius Black he was his friend? He said nothing waiting for Severus to explain. "I can't believe I did that," the dark boy mumbled. Now Xeon was wondering if Sev had regretted getting in trouble for defending him. Before Lovegood could ask, Snape kept talking. "I swore I wouldn't be like him. And there I was acting just like, him."

Not realizing Severus was talking more to himself than to his friend, Xeno asked, "Him who? Sirius Black?"

As if waking up from some sleeping spell, Severus looked at Xenophillius. "No, not Black."

Not knowing how he knew, Xeno had a feeling he was going into territory that very few had ever gone with Severus Snape.

Severus didn't know why he suddenly asked, "What are your parents like?"

"What do you mean, what are they like?" Xeno seemed confused by the seeming change in subject. "Like most people's parents I suppose."

"Oh." Severus was now regretting opening up.

"You didn't ask that because you think I'm weird or something?" Xeno went on the defensive. "And being weird I must come from a weird family? I assure you my parents are as normal a witch and wizard as anyone else's parents."

Realizing his blunder Sev defended, "No, I didn't mean that. Not at all. I imagine your parents must be, perfect."

"Perfect?" Xeno's defenses dropped slightly. "I didn't say they were perfect, just normal."

A look of relief seemed to come over Snape. "Oh, then your Dad does hit you." Almost immediately Sev knew he'd slipped.

"Hit me?" This question shocked Xeno the most. "Why would he hit me?"

"No reason," Sev tried to cover.

"My eyes were like this when I was born. No one slapped them this way."

Sev was trying to make a quick retreat now. "Going to be late for the practical Transfiguration exam. Got to dash."

Xeno was left wondering what had just happened. He spent half of the day a bit annoyed with Mr. Snape. It wasn't until much later while studying with Corona in the Ravenclaw common room that it dawned on him why Severus had asked that peculiar question. He was telling her about the incident.

"He wasn't saying your Dad hit you," Rona tried to explain. She had understood right off the bat.

"Oh yes he was. Those were his very words," Xeno insisted. "Then your Dad does hit you. I was not mistaken. Practically accused my father of giving me my crossed eyes."" He would have gone on if Corona hadn't place a gentle hand on his forearm to stop him.

"Xen." Corona spoke in the way she did. A way that made things clear. "He wasn't saying that." Xeno looked at her waiting for the explanation. "He was telling you, his Dad hits him. That's who he doesn't want to be like."

Open mouthed Xeno tried to say something. Nothing came out of his mouth for a moment. Then he asked, "Then why didn't he just say that?"

"He was testing the water. Think about it Xeno. If your Dad was hitting you, would you go around announcing it?"

"Yes, I would." Lovegood said this in all seriousness. "I'd expose the rotter . . ." The look on Solaris' face told Xeno she didn't believe him. "I would," he insisted.

"You probably would. Most people would be embarrassed." She paused. "I think."

"Embarrassed?" Xeno didn't comprehend. "I'd think the one doing the hitting should be the one embarrassed."

"I agree." Corona planted a kiss on Xeno's forehead. "But put yourself in Sev's shoes."

"You know," Xeno was thinking out loud. "Between sixteen and seventeen, I've seen a lot of fellows grow quite a bit. My cousin Eccolson grew a whole foot over one summer. If Severus does that, the bruit won't be able to push him around. He'll give it right back. Then again, he did seem to regret hitting Mr. Black."

Down in the Slytherin common room, Severus was being cross examined by another Black who had come tearing into the dungeons. "What the heck happened between you and my brother Snape," Regulus barked out. This was unusual. Regulus usually cheered Severus on when he antagonized his brother.

"He tried to drown me and I defended myself," Sev growled back. He tried to intimidate Reg. "You got a problem with that?" It looked rather funny because the younger one was already taller than the other.

"Normally no." Regulus said, and backed down. He could see how worked up Severus was. "But you don't know what happened."

Snape questioned his friend with gestures.

"Dumbledore's chucked Sirius out for the rest of the term. Sent him home. Our Mum is going to be furious."

A sneering grin was trying not to escape onto Snape's face.

"It's not funny Sev."

"Oh, yes it is."

"No it's not."

"If you had heard the last thing I heard you brother say today, you'd think it was funny too."

Regulus bit. "What did he say?"

"He was asking Dumbledore if he was going to throw my sorry ass out of Hogwarts. Well, it looks like it's his sorry ass that's out."

There was an outburst of laughter from the rest of the Slytherins who were there, but Regulus still looked worried. "You don't know my mother."

Up in Gryffindor tower another Hogwarts student was getting news of his own mother. "I can't believe this," James Potter said to himself as he looked at the letter the owl had dropped in his lap. He didn't know what to do. His best friend wasn't there to commiserate with him. Remus could be a good listener, but it wasn't the same as Sirius. He was too busy studying anyway. Peter, no Peter was good when one wanted to try out a joke, but for something this important he needed Sirius. He muttered to himself. "I can't believe my Mum is in St. Mungo's."

The only place where peace seemed to be in Hogwarts that night was in the common room near the kitchen. All of the Hufflepuffs slept soundly that night.

tbc


	27. Thanks For The Memories

They Call chapter 27

Thanks For The Memories

It did not matter how tightly the curtains of his four poster were shut. It did not matter how quiet he tried to be. Severus knew everyone in his dorm room could hear the tossing and turning. Everyone could hear the muffled sniffs of his nose even if they couldn't see the silent tears or puffed up eyes from his unsuccessful suppression of them. Snape should have been happy. Sirius had finally met some form of justice. Sev would have a full week of Black free days. Instead of celebrating, he could only think of what a 'fool' he'd been. What a 'colossal idiot'; to almost as good as tell one of his new friends what kind of f-up he was. After all, who but a f-up's father treats their child the way Toby treated him. Then again who but a f-up calls their best friend what he'd called Lily. This was how Severus was thinking as he tried to sleep.

Even at his age, on the verge of being an adult in the wizarding world, his thoughts on this matter were still those of a child. 'I'm sixteen,' he'd tell himself. 'Shouldn't get so worked up about it.' He had had ten years to be used to the fact that his father hated him. Then Severus would think in Toby's own voice all the things he'd heard out of that mouth:

"_Little shite."_

"_What use are ya?"_

"_Can't believe yer mine."_

"_Should have been drowned when ya were small enough; not that ya grew much now have ya?"_

Though they are from years ago, Severus feels the marks on his back burn as if fresh. He flipped onto his side only to have the shoulder that Toby had wrenched out of its socket this last summer screams out its own pain. This time he can not stop the sharp "Ahhh!" that comes out of his mouth before he can move into a comfortable position. The ache in the bone calms, but it does not stop the voice of his father replaying in Severus' mind. He remembers an event that took place the last week of Summer holiday.

"_I told ya ta shut up," Tobias tells Severus for the fifth time in an hour. _

_This time Sev tells him, "No."_

"_What?"_

"_NO! I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Mum. I have as much of a right to let Mum know what I think as . . ."_

_The next thing the boy knows is his father's hand is squeezed on his bicep like a clamp. The boy's whole body is thinner that the man's arm. He is jerked around like a rag. _

"_Look Ele, your son thinks because he may have grown a pair, he can talk back to me."_

_Eileen looks as if she is going to tell Tobias to stop, but Severus gives her a warning look. A look that says he'll take it. He'd rather it was him than her. Eileen doesn't listen to that look, for she feels the same way; It should be her, not him. "Toby let go of him."_

_They can all hear Sev's shoulder pop before Toby drops him to the floor. When Severus looks up, Eileen's wand is aimed at Toby. "Mum no!"_

_Toby glairs at his wife. "Just try it bitch. Lose another part of yer marbles." The witch lowers her wand. Her eyes go to her son standing behind her husband. Toby senses something, and turns to see Severus now aiming his stick of ebony and unicorn hair at him. "Come on then. Get yerself thrown out of that school of yers." Severus lowers his wand. "That's right. Both of you better remember 'oose in charge round here."_

_Severus is looking at Eileen again. He does not want her hurt, by Toby, or by backfiring magic, but in his eyes he pleas the argument he has pleaded for years. 'Why can't we go? Why can't you get him out of here? How can you stand him?'_

_Severus knows he can not stay there and hold back his anger any longer, so he does what he always does; He runs. Behind him he hears his father yelling, "Ya can stay out there all night for all I care."_

_It wouldn't be the first time Severus had slept somewhere other than Spinner's End that summer. It's late, dusk has already started in. The one place he knows he can reach before it gets too dark is the grove by the river. For some reason Severus thinks he might find Lily there. He hopes he'll find Lily there. Then he is not sure if he really does hope she's there. He wants to see her, but doesn't want her to see him; not like this anyway. In the end he does feel disappointed she was not there when he arrived._

'_Don't know why I thought she'd be here anyway. Her mum and dad wouldn't let her out this late anyway.'_

_A little bit later, after Sev had settled under a tree, he wished he had grabbed his jacket before tearing out of the house. It had been and unusually cold week though earlier that summer it had been sweltering. That evening it was misting. Full rain threatened to break out as the sun dropped below the horizon. Severus didn't care. He was not going back to that house. A wish of never having to go back there surged inside of him._

'_Why shouldn't I leave her there with him? She's there alone with him the whole school year anyway. She's the one who chose him. I had no choice in the matter.'_

_Remembering that Lily had once told him she had heard that we choose our parents before we are born didn't convince him. He told her if he had, Toby would have been the last person he'd of chosen for a dad. He remembers what else Lily had said at that time. "Maybe you wanted to have your Mum so much, you didn't care about your dad." It was a sweet thought. 'Only someone as sweet as Lily could believe that.' Severus Loved his mother, but not enough to believe he wouldn't have chosen some other family to be a part of if such a choice were possible. _

_Try as he might, two things kept Severus from falling asleep. One, he knew that 'things' came out at night down by the river. Two, his shoulder still had stabbing pains. He was sure some tendon had been snapped. It took a lot of effort to keep it still so it would hurt a little less. The old argument of 'why shouldn't I be able to use magic to fix it,' swam through his thoughts. 'Right, go ahead, use magic. Get yourself expelled. Stay here all the time.' _

_If Severus were to ever be expelled, he told himself he'd never stay at Spinner's End with Toby. It would be a choice of running away for good, or hexing the crap out of his father before the ministry came and snapped his wand. It was a good fantasy, but he wouldn't want his wand snapped for all the cursing of his father. 'Funny thing is, if he wasn't a Muggle, a year and five months from now I could hex him six ways till Sunday and no one could do a thing about it.' Another reason to regret that his father was not a wizard._

_Thinking about Lily's conviction that children choose their parents before birth, and its unlikeliest, Severus thought about who he might pick if he could pick family. The thought of picking Lily's family was not there. He liked Lily's parents well enough, he might have even have been able to have fun terrorizing Petunia, but the idea of being Lily's brother didn't fit with his picture of being her husband somewhere in the future. Of course there was the little snag of him not having told her of this picture yet. _

'_If I could choose what family to belong to . . .' he thought to himself. 'I'd choose . . .' he thought deeper. 'Lucius' family. Yeah, Lucius needs a brother.' A brother to share all that stuff they had at Malfoy manor._

_The rumble of summer thunder overhead along with the squeaks of water voles reminded Severus exactly where he was. Sleeping under a tree next to a river polluted with industrial waste, not in a comfy bed in a country manor. 'No, there is no way we choose our parents or circumstances before we're born,' he concluded. 'I'd of never chosen to be a half-blood, have my dad, or live in a place like this.'_

_Late that night, or rather early that morning, Severus succumb to sleep. Even the throbbing in his shoulder couldn't keep him awake. He dreamed that sometime in that sleep someone had put a blanket over him. Unconsciously Severus pulled the dream blanket tighter around him. As he awoke, it seemed there actually was something around him. When his mind caught up to reality, he sprung up with a start._

"_What the . . ." He looked at what turned out to be a rather girlish Holly Hobbie quilt. "This is Lily's.' He looked around for her. The only thing in sight was a gang of grey squirrels scrapping over what was left in a popcorn box laying next to a public trash bin._

_The Severus in the memory, remembered six summers back when Lily had caught him about to eat half a sandwich someone had tossed in that same bin. "It's wrapped up. They didn't bite into it," he remembers defending._

"_But it's been in the bin." It was clear that Lily was officially grossed out. _

_Begrudgingly, Severus put it back._

_This was on a summer morning when both nine year olds had determined that they were running away. They wanted an adventure, but were not sure which continent they should run off to just yet._

"_So how do you suggest we get food without money?" Sev asked._

"_I have a pound," Lily offered as she dug the coin out of her pocket._

_This changed Sev's mood almost instantly. "I know a bakery where if you get there early enough, you can get a bag of two day old pastry for twenty-five pence." When Sev had said it, it sounded good to Lily. Her friend sounded so enthused. "Sometimes there can be up to eight in the bag if your lucky."_

_The only disagreement on reaching the bakery had been that Severus suggested they get two bags so they'd each have one. Lily suggested that they get one and split it. Then they would have enough for three more days._

_The boy was a bit disappointed, Sev knew he could eat a whole bag himself. "Okay," he agreed. "It's really your money anyway." That last bit had to be choked out. His motto at that time may well have been, 'what's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine.' For Lily, he'd moderate. _

_Both the fifteen year old Severus in the grove, and the sixteen year old Severus in the Slytherin dorm remembered the look on nine year old Lily's face when she bit into a raspberry turnover. No matter how hard the polite girl tried to hide her disappointment it showed for that brief moment she thought her friend had not seen. She stopped eating after a second bite. Sev had gobbled down two doughnuts and was starting on a lemon tart by then._

"_What's wrong with that then?" He asked in that northern accent he'd long since ditched._

_Lily couldn't be honest and say it was too hard and stale, so she said, "I had a big breakfast this morning. I'm not that hungry."_

_Always very good at telling when people were lying, Sev knew, but didn't let it show. After all she was just being 'nice.' He was still embarrassed that he had been 'dumb' enough to think getting a bag of stale pastry was a good thing. He hadn't known any better until he saw Lily's face. He stopped eating too._

"_I'm sorry Lily," he said looking embarrassed._

"_Sorry about what?" She didn't understand. She hadn't meant for him to stop eating._

"_That I made you spend your money on this junk."_

"_It's all right Sev."_

"_Maybe we should go home."_

"_But we haven't figured out where we're going yet."_

"_Maybe we better go another day."_

"_Oh." Now Lily sounded disappointed. "I guess. Another day."_

_And with that the kid style run away plan came to an end._

Sixteen year old Severus lay in his bed remembering that was the day nine year old Severus was determined to learn the proper way to do everything. That was the day he had determined Lily would never be ashamed of him ever again. 'Great plan Sev,' Snape thought to himself. 'That's worked out so well.' Lily had never said she was ashamed of him, but that was how he felt even now; like an embarrassment; like 'Snivellus.' Something had to change. He had to change.

tbc


	28. Good Morning Hogwarts

They Call

Chapter 28

Good Morning Hogwarts

"Sev," a voice calls. "Sev . . . Sev . . . SNAPE WAKE UP!"

The sleepy boy groans and buries himself in his bed covers. He known the voice is not the one that has been in his dreams. That one had been a girl's, this one was not. "Fine miss breakfast." Severus recognizes Regulus' voice. He hears Evan add, "Don't forget you've got some broom charming to take care of today." The two Quidditch players leave their friend to his Saturday sleep in.

There was no way Severus could fall back asleep now. He still didn't want to get out of bed. If he gets out of bed he'll have to think about reality. Not that it hadn't snuck into his dreams either. His dreams that night had started off with how it had been only a few months earlier.

_Severus walked from the grove to Lily's house. He wanted to find out if she had snuck out to bring the quilt to him, and how she knew he needed it._

"_I don't know how I knew," Lily explained through her bedroom window as Sev sat on a branch of a tree outside of it. "I just knew."_

_The boy asked, "Why didn't you wake me up?"_

_There was a hesitation before the girl answered, "I knew if you woke up, you'd ask me to stay."_

"_And that is a problem, why?"_

"_You have no idea how much trouble I'd be in if my parents knew I snuck out at all, never mind if I'd stayed out all night."_

_Severus' face screwed up in confusion. "Your parents? They never get mad at you."_

"_No, but they'd worry. I don't want to worry them."_

_This explanation didn't seem to penetrate Severus' thinking. "It's not like you've never camped out with me before."_

"_That was when we were little Sev. And before there were gangs of people going around trying to hurt Muggleborn witches and wizards."_

_There it was, the issue they had been avoiding all summer. It was still the last thing Severus wanted to talk about. He didn't want another lecture on his friends at school. He tread carefully. "Yet you still snuck out."_

"_Well, I couldn't let my best friend freeze all night. Now could I?"_

_This made Severus smile. She was still calling him her best friend. They had had more than one discussion about this back in school. Severus started to tell her something. "You know I'd never let . . ." _

_He was cut short by Lily warning, "Petunia's knocking on my door." Lily had already been lectured about how she was at an age when it was not proper to be talking to boys out her bedroom window. They had never said Severus specifically, but he was the only boy who ever climbed the tree to talk to her._

_Before Severus could ask Lily to meet him somewhere else, she had shut the window and drawn the shade. He could hear Petunia ask, "Who were you talking to?"_

"_Myself," Lily lied. "I'm such a weirdo, I do it all the time."_

_Outside in the tree Sev snickered and thought, 'That's my girl.' He knew the nosey sister would be looking out the window, so he dropped down and hid around the corner of the house. He waited in hopes that Lily might return to the window and give the all clear, or for her to actually come outside. These hopes were dashed twenty minutes later when he heard the entire Evans family climbing into their car. Petunia was still trying to get Lily in trouble. "I know you were talking to 'that' boy out of your window."_

_Severus never heard if Lily argued back, or if her parents believed Petunia as the car doors shut._

'_It's Sunday,' Sev thought to himself. 'They always go to church, then out to breakfast Sundays.' Knowing it would be hours before they returned, he'd have to find something else to amuse himself. _

The waking thought he'd had when Regulus and Evan tried to wake him was that if he climbed up to that branch this summer, Lily'd knock him off of it. 'Or she'll saw it off so I can't climb up at all,' he thought. Then his thoughts went to his mother. They said she was getting better, but they hadn't moved her out of that horrible locked ward yet. When he finally crawled out of bed Snape was in a foul mood. He was glad his roommates were gone. He couldn't help wonder what they had thought of the personal pity party he'd thrown the night before. He wished he knew a spell he could have used to keep them from hearing his failed attempts to hide how he was feeling. If he couldn't find a spell, he'd invent one. He had a whole summer to do just that. Until then, he'd have to do better at stuffing those feelings down.

As the early risers of Slytherin house climbed up to the Great Hall one of them was ready to rip into their friend. "Can you believe Snape?" Rosier groaned, "Kid's turning out to be a regular cry baby."

Mulciber asked, "What you talking 'bout? Never figured Sev for a cry baby."

"Of course you wouldn't hear all that sniffling. You were snoring so loud, I don't know which kept me awake."

"You telling me Snape was crying last night?"

"Yes blockhead. I just said he was a crybaby, hence he was crying."

To everyone's surprise it was Avery who stood up for Severus. "Like to see you say that to his face."

Evan hemmed and hawed. Mulciber might have been the only one in the school who could have walloped Rosier in a physical fight, but Potter and Black were the only ones in Hogwarts who had ever bested Snape in the hexing department, and that was only ten percent of the time. Severus always got them back, and his hexes could be quite nasty. Weather he thought Snape was being what he called a cry baby, Evan wouldn't want to find himself on the receiving end of that wand. He still didn't like Avery telling him what for. "Why you hassling me, I'm not the one blubbering all night."

Avery didn't like to confront Rosier, but he sympathized with Severus. "Ever think he might have a good reason for crying?"

This was a side of Avery the other Slytherin hadn't know existed. "You think there's a good reason for a sixteen year old guy to be crying?"

Rosier was the only one who looked harshly at Avery. They all had a feeling why he was sticking up for Sev. They were not surprised when Avery said, "Are you an idiot?"

Evan rounded on the other boy. "An idiot? Coming from you that's rich."

Everyone also knew that Avery wasn't the brightest bulb in the pack, but he knew what was really bothering Snape. "You mean to tell me, that if your mum was in the hospital, possibly dying, you wouldn't be acting just like Sev is?"

Rosier looked dumbstruck. Avery had made a good point. He remembered it was a few years before that the other boy's mother had been seriously ill, but had pulled through. He didn't remember if Avery had cried then. "Look, I can feel bad for Snape because of his mother, but you guys have to admit, Sev has got something seriously wrong with him."

This time it was Regulus who spoke up, "Evan, all of us have something wrong with us."

There was a long stretch of silence as the Slytherin boys all looked at each other awkwardly. They all knew, as tough and mean as they all were, each of them had some foible.

"Right now," Mulciber broke that silence. "What's wrong with me is, I'M BLODDY HUNGERY!" He broke away from this strange gathering on the stairs and the other's followed him. Though the tension had been broken, it was not a good start for the Slytherin Quidditch team who had to play that afternoon.

Another boy who had woken up in a foul mood had been James Potter. Late the night before his father had arrived shortly after the owl with the message about his mother. Mr. Potter would take his son to see her. Unlike Severus, the only thing James needed from the headmaster was permission to go.

_Mrs. Potter had been in good spirits, but she was very weak. "See Jimmy, there are some disadvantages to being purebloods," she gently joked with a touch of black humor. "We're the only ones who catch the wasting disease."_

"_That's not funny Mum."_

"_I know dear, but if I don't laugh, I'll spend my last days crying." This made her son choke back a tear. "Oh no James, I didn't want you to cry. I'm an old witch. I've lived a right good life, and my old age has been blessed with a son like you."_

_James couldn't say anything. His mother's statement actually worried him for a moment. She didn't know what kind of things he and his friends got up to in school. _

That slight twang of guilt did not last through the night. By morning he had rationalized all of his hexing of other students as necessary because, 'they deserved it.' Mostly because they were Slytherin, though he had hexed people of all of the houses, including his own. 'Maybe I should only hex Slytherins. They're the ones planning to join You-Know-Who. They're the little twerps like Snivellus, playing around with the dark arts. They're not like other wizards. They're evil.'

He was awake early. He, Remus, and Peter were in the Great Hall when the Slytherin Quidditch team arrived.

Everywhere in Hogwarts the entire school was anticipating the Quidditch game that would determine who would play Ravenclaw in the final. The other two houses were supporting Hufflepuff; Gryffindor because they could and or would never support Slytherin; Ravenclaw because it would be a lot easier to beat them in the final. Despite all of this support, the chances of Hufflepuff winning were a thousand to one. This didn't stop the Gryffindors' seeker from mouthing off at breakfast.

"You know what they say about being over confident," Potter said loudly, making sure all the other tables could hear.

His attempt at getting the Slytherin team shook was cut short because Rosier was faster at a comeback than Potter's friends were.

"Yeah, you end up like Gryffindor. Not in the finals. Even with fat-head Potter playing."

James turned it around by saying, "That's right. I'll save a seat right next to me for you so we can watch the final together."

Rosier stood to declare, "The day I sit next to a wanker like you, is the day . . ."

"Yet you sit next to Snivellus every day."

"Why don't you just shut up Potter," Regulus broke in. "My brother's not here for you to impress."

Ignoring this Potter continued, "Speaking of Snivelly, is he hiding? He and Peter have a score to settle."

"That's right," Wormtail put in.

"Don't make me laugh," Mulciber gave his opinion. "That little puke will pee his pants as soon as Snape even looks at him. Or are you going to fight his battles the way you always do? None of your bunch ever fight fair." For Mulciber this was a soliloquy. All the other Slytherin were looking at him as if they'd never seen him before. "Well they don't. They always wait till Sev's alone, and it's all four of them." The look of the pain of thinking could be seen on Mulciber's face. "Even if there's only three now."

"Oooh, Mulciber can count," James taunted. "With brains like that on your team, it's a shoe in . . . for Hufflepuff."

With that, all hell broke loose between the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables. It had not reached a physical point, but food and insults were flying free.

Down the corridor the teachers were on their way to what they thought was going to be a peaceful breakfast. It was McGonagall who spoke first. "Do I hear the dulcet tones of inter-house rivalry?"

"So much for a quiet end of term," Slughorn added.

"When have we ever had one of those?"

Before Horace could answer, both heads of the fighting houses heard the head master's voice above the noise of the fracas. "In case you hadn't noticed," Dumbledore's voice was enough to silence everyone. "This is a school; Not a barnyard."

tbc


	29. Cool Enough For Sydney

They Call chapter 29

Good Enough For Sydney

---

The tension that had started that morning lasted all through to the afternoon. Despite the their chances of winning all but assured the Slytherin changing room was the tensest place of all. Their captain, Rosier was the worst. Every little thing anyone else did got on his every last nerve. The thing that bugged him the most was that Mulciber and Avery were distracting the broom charmer with their childish, and not that clever, limericks about all of the Gryffindor girls. These two's favorite target was still Mary McDonald.

They giggled about the prank they had pulled on her last year. "Mary, Mary, all contrary. How did we make your boobies grow. What was that? Did we hear a snap?"

"I can't concentrate if you two don't shut up," Snape growled as he put the last touch on Avery's broom. He thrust it back to it's owner, and grabbed Mulciber's.

"Bet you could concentrate on Evan's butt," Mulciber teased. Then he and Avery began a rhyme for Lily that they had never sang in front of Severus before. "Evans, Evans, hinny like heaven's. Sevvy don't care if you walk away. If he can see your back view ev-er-ry day."

Each line of the rude poem made Severus scowl deeper. He shook Mulciber's broom at the other boy. "Give me a reason not to put a crash jinx on this."

"I'll give you a reason," Rosier snapped. "Because if we loose today, you'll be sleeping with the giant squid tonight."

"Oh really?" Snape turned on Evan. He looked a bit silly challenging someone who could thump him with one swat. "You know technically I don't have to do a blessed thing to help you win." Severus thought he had turned the tables.

Even though Rosier had apologized for the things he'd said the week before, the stress of possible embarrassment from a loss to Hufflepuff made him revert to belittling his friend again. "Maybe the Gryffindor's are right about you."

Almost as if he'd seen it before it could happen Regulus' arm was stretched out keeping Severus and Evan separated. "Both of you cool down," Black calmed. "If we keep at each other like this, what those Gryffindor pukes said would happen will happen." The other two boy's backed down a little. Regulus added, "Evan, take a walk."

"I'm waiting for Snape to do my broom." Rosier's turn of phrase made Mulciber and Avery giggle under their breaths, and repeat, "Do his broom." They giggled again.

Ignoring the idiots Regulus commanded, "Give it to Severus, and take a walk."

"Give it to Severus." The two pranksters couldn't stop their juvenileness.

Rosier knew it was time to take Black's advice before he went to strangle his teammates. He shoved the latest model Nimbus racing broom towards Snape and admonished, "I'll be back in a fifteen minutes. You better not screw this up."

Again there was the chorus from Mulciber and Avery, "Screw this up."

"Will you two give it a rest," Severus requested through snarling teeth.

This time only Avery sang out, "Give it a rest."

Mulciber looked at his sidekick to say, "That's not even funny."

With that the two beaters went off to play a game of exploding snaps in a corner, leaving Severus in somewhat peace so he could finish charming the brooms. He purposely left Rosier's for last. It had taken more than the fifteen minutes that Evan had said he'd be back in to get to it. The game was supposed to start in five. As he worked the magic that would give the Slytherin's brooms an edge of speed and smoothness, he could hear Professor Slughorn fretting.

The closer it got to game time the head of Slytherin house burst out, "Where is that boy?"

Knowing who he meant Regulus offered, "He stepped out to clear his head."

"Do you know where he went? I looked all over the stands. Didn't see him anywhere."

Out in those very stands students began chanting, "Start the game! Start the game!"

Indeed Madam Hooch had given the signal for the two teems to take the pitch. Slughorn went to have a word with the young broom flying teacher. He came back looking perturbed. "Look men," he addressed his team. "If we don't take the field in two minutes, with seven flyers, Slytherin house will have to forfeit the game."

"No Sir," the boys cried.

"How can we play without our chief Chaser?" Their head of house asked.

"We can't forfeit." The players echoed. "Not to Hufflepuff."

Slughorn was thinking. His thinking was interrupted by another question. "What can we do Sir?" His eyes landed on Severus who had been standing by, leaning on Rosier's broom in his 'honorary' uniform adorned with the number '00'.

"We can take the field with seven players until I find Evan," Horace said with a new spark in his eye. There were only seconds to the opening whistle. The professor was looking at the only other person in a Quidditch uniform. "Mr. Snape," Slughorn grabbed the still unaware Severus and pulled him over to the rest of the team. "This may be your lucky day."

In realization Severus sputtered, "Sir, you can't. I can't."

"All we need now is a body on a broom Severus."

The boy protested more, "Me?"

Slughorn put his words within an inch of Sev's ear. "Severus my boy, I believe you can do anything you put your mind to."

Severus whispered back, "I don't suppose you have any Felix . . ."

"No time." Slughorn slapped Snape on the back, but friends or not, the Slytherin Quidditch team didn't look as happy as Slughorn dragged Sev into his place in the line. Just in time, they took to the pitch.

Lupin was the first to notice. "Looks like they've found someone to replace Rosier."

"Look, it's Snivellus," James laughed out. He and Peter began the expected chant of, "Snivellus, Snivellus." It didn't take a minute for other Gryffindors to join in. Soon almost everyone except the rest of Slytherin house, and Snape's two Ravenclaw friends were chanting and banging their feet in triplets to the call of, "Sniv-el-us, Sniv-el-us."

"Poor boy," Slughorn sighed. He wondered if it hadn't been a mistake to ask Severus to do this.

It was in that exact moment that Severus stepped up and took control of his own self respect. He flew up to where the announcer was calling the game. More than one in the crowd wondered, 'What is he doing?' He dismounted and stood there straddling two rows, one foot higher than the other, as if he were posing for the cup picture. He seemed taller than he actually was. His uniform cape flying behind in the breeze. Rosier's broom held above his head defiantly. He grabbed the announcer's microphone, and waited for his fellow students to shut up.

For Severus time seemed to stand still, he was running on pure instinct, not 'thinking' about what he was doing, not caring what anyone else thought. For some reason a line from a Muggle movie he and Lily had snuck into the previous summer ran through his head. He thought to himself, 'If it's cool enough for Sydney Poitier, it's good enough for me.'

When the spectators had quieted down, Severus shouted into the amplifier as loud as he could, "They call me, _**MISTER**_ Snives!" Weather they knew where this sentence had come from or not, the Slytherin part of the crowd went wild. They began to chant "Snape, Snape, Snape." Soon some of the other houses, including the house they were opposing began to give Snape props as well. "Snape., Snape, Snape."

Severus dropped the mike and flew back into the pitch looking like a demon with wings.

Quietly, Remus commented to James and Peter, "I think we've created a monster."

"Please," James jeered. "Snively is only taking up space so Slytherin doesn't have to forfeit."

Peter added his opinion, "With him flying for them, they may as well forfeit." He made that snorting laugh of his.

Lupin shook his head silently. He had always felt his friends underestimated Snape. Apparently many had. To all of their surprise, for this game at least, Severus turned out to be a 'passable' Chaser. He carried the Quaffle a number of times. He had thrown for goal about ten times. Half of those throws went horribly wide, but the other half hit the rim before the Hufflepuff Keeper could knock them away. However, none of those went in. To be fair to Severus, none of Wilks or the other Chaser's throws went in either. As a matter of fact, none of the Hufflepuffs had scored either.

The score remained, like Snape's uniform number, 0 - 0 for two hours until . . . The miracle of all miracles in all of Quiddich history happened.

It looked as if neither of the Seekers had a clue as to where the Snitch was. It looked like this might be one of those games that went on and on and on. Severus was attempting for another chance to score at least one goal. He threw. It missed. It also rebounded off the goal hoop strait into Snape's face. His nose to be spasific. That rebounded strait through the goal.

Holding his nose, yelling in pain, Sev could hear the announcer shouting, "Ten points for Slytherin!"

The broom he was riding curved towards the ground. While everyone else looked to see if Snape would crash or not, Regulus saw the Snitch and made a bee line towards it. Though skidding along the sand Sev heard the announcer telling everyone, "Slytherin wins!" It was just then that Snape stopped while the broom kept going until it met the wood of the stands. Seconds later he and Regulus were being hoisted up as Quiddich heroes. Severus was rather pleased with the outcome. He didn't even mind the huge lump he could feel on his face again. He did ask a few minutes later, "Could someone ask the Matron or Miss. Pomfrey to look at my nose?"

tbc

_Hands on a miracle I got my hands on a miracle_

'_Leave it or not, hands on a miracle_

_And there ain't no way Let you take it away_

. . . Foo Fighters, Miracle


	30. Strange Celebration

They Call chapter 30

Strange Celebration

"I'm not sure this is the right time to take the picture," Corona pointed out as Xenophillius prepared to snap one.

"Are you kidding?" Xeno had a big grin on his face. "This is exactly when a bloke wants his picture taken. At the height of victory. Surrounded by his comrades." The Ravenclaw boy aimed the camera.

"But his face. His mum will want to see his face."

"We can get another one after Matron has fixed it."

The photo Xeno took captured the moment when Sev and Reg were hoisted up by all of Slytherin house. The score in the background showing their 160 to 0 win. Corona was right about the face. Severus' face was again black and blue with his nose swollen worse than it had been days earlier. Snape was beginning to not care about the fact that no one had listened to his call for medical help because the celebration felt like nothing he'd ever thought it would be.

The two heroes of the day were carried back up to the castle hailed by their housemates. Instead of hearing Gryffindors chants of 'greasy Snivellus,' Snape heard his fellow Slytherins chanting, "Who scored? Severus! Who won? Regulus! Who's the best? Slytherin!"

Among the disappointed Gryffindors shuffling back to the castle much slower than the victorious Slytherins, James was mocking the praises under his breath with his own version, 'Who sucks? Snivellus. Who stinks? Regupuss. Who bites? Slytherscum.' No one except the two other Marauders walking along side of him heard. Typically, Remus rolled his eyes while Peter snorted out a laugh. Despite their efforts to sink Slytherin, their foes had won. Their arch-rival was made a hero.

The Slytherin hoots, woo hoos, and all manner of cheers continued until Snape and Black were set down in front of the oak doors. The entire teem, minus their missing captain, stood at the front of the school being admired. Professor Slughorn stepped forward to praise them, but that was when he noticed Snape's poor nose.

"Let me take a look at that." Slughorn examined the injury. "Hate to tear you away from the celebration, but I think it best to get you over to the infirmary."

"We'll help." It was Mulciber who had offered with enthusiasm. He and Avery tried to hoist their friend up onto their shoulders. Avery's side kept falling off.

"Get out of the way," it was a girl who said this. She pushed Avery out of the way and lifted the side opposite Mulciber with ease. Severus recognized her as Millie Crabbe, Vinnie's sister, Bob Balstrode's rather muscular girlfriend, who looked like she belonged on the Muggle East German swim teem. She was stronger than Avery so between her and Mulciber they could carry him all the way; not that Sev was that much of a burden anyway.

During that bizarre ride to the Hospital Wing, Severus asked the professor, "Sir, did anyone find Evan?"

An unusual flush came to Slughorn's cheeks. "Err, uhh, no. Not yet." The man knew he'd have to look for Rosier as soon as Severus was seen to. He had been so engrossed in watching the game, he had never even started the search.

When Poppy and Old Matron saw Snape's face they gave each other knowing looks. "Quidditch," the older of the women moaned. "Young lady, that infernal game will bring you more charges than any misplaced spells will."

The younger woman nodded in agreement. She had already seen that for herself. It was usually Potter or one of the Black brothers, she was surprised to see Severus. "Did a fight break out?"

"No," Sev protested. Before he could realize how ridiculous it really was he admitted, "Hit by the Quaffle."

"I see, so much better." The matron in training was already examining the boy's face, again. "Lucky you've never broken it." She looked to her mentor to confirm what course of action to take. "A simple anti-swelling potion?"

Old Matron nodded before going to attend to other patients. Poppy pointed to a cot. Severus knew the routine. He sat while she put the potion on a gauze. "Dang," The boy wailed when she applied it. "Why does that crap always sting?"

"Don't know," the nurse answered. "Maybe you can find out." The matron in training pulled something else out of a storage cabinet. "This is balm ice." She held the bag out. "Keep it on your nose. It will help with the swelling along with the potion." Poppy was going to see to some other things when she noticed the five students who had not left when Slughorn had. Her eyes glanced over the three Slytherin and two Ravenclaws taking note that this had to be the strangest group of visitors she'd ever remembered seeing at a patient's bedside. She didn't think it was worth the bother to tell them to leave. If they caused any trouble, that would be a different story.

At that very moment three more Slytherin came to see Snape. Regulus and Wilkes got the idea that they would bring part of the celebration over to the hospital wing. For some reason, Grover Goyle, a seventh year who thought he was going to get one of the beater positions on the team when his brother Greg had left school, followed them there. It was an odd reaction when Goyle saw Solaris and Lovegood standing at Snape's bedside along with Mulciber, Avery, and Millie. "This is a Slytherin celebration." Grover glowered and pointed. "What are they doing here? Their house is who we have to beat Wednesday."

"We," Sev sneered from the cot he was sitting on. "If you hadn't noticed, there were only seven players on the pitch today. I don't recall you being one of them."

"You won't be there again when they find Rosier. Maybe you did something to him just so you could play."

For a second or two his teammates looked at Snape sideways, considering the possibility. Then they remembered how much Severus had protested after Slughorn's request. As sweet as victory had been, Sev still couldn't fly a broom further than he could throw one.

"You're daft," Regulus came out with. "Besides Snape was in the changing room the whole time after Evan left."

About then Mulciber was palming a fist in Grover's direction. He was the only one in the school more muscle bound than any of the Golye brothers.

To defuse the gripe between his fellow Slytherin Goyle turned back to the Ravenclaws. "So, what are those two doing here?"

"Now, now, Grover, If Snape wants his little Ravenclaw friends here," Wilkes defended, but in a strangely malevolent tone. "They stay, and you go."

After this Goyle didn't go, but he didn't argue about Snape's friends any longer. The discussion turned to the finer points of the game, and what could have happened to Rosier. Even though he had spoken up for them, Xeno didn't like the way Wilkes kept leering at Corona. The talk became so loud it brought the wrath of the Matron in training down on them.

"If you don't quiet down," Miss. Pomfrey broke in. "I'll be sending you all out. There are other sick children in here you know." When she turned away again, more than one Slytherin tongues were sticking out behind her back. Xeno snickered until Rona gave him a scolding look and whispered, "Good grief, we're not first years."

Since he had left the hospital wing, Professor Slughorn had been looking for the captain of his Quiddich team. He hadn't looked for very long when he thought he might check to see if he showed up in their common room. As he passed through the door of sculls, he could hear Rosier shouting. "What the Hell is going on?" He must have been only a few steps ahead of Slughorn.

"We won," someone informed.

"Indeed we did," Slughorn bellowed as he passed the barrier.

"You played the game?" Evan's question was directed towards the head of Slytherin house. Rosier didn't look good at all. He was green. Literally green. In sliver letters on his forehead was painted 'Go Slytherscum!' "You played without me?"

"Yes, we won." The Professor then questioned, "Where were you?"

"Where was I? Where was I?" Rosier said this a few more times growing angrier until he yelled out. "Someone set a freezing spell on me, put a sack over my head, and stuffed me in Filtch's mop closet!"

At first there were a few snorts of laughter, then there were murmurs of, "Damn Gryffindors."

Evan ignored this and asked, "Black, where is Black?"

One of the other students told him that Regulus had taken the celebration over to Snape in the Hospital Wing. "Snape?" Rosier asked in puzzlement. "What has he to do with anything?"

Professor Slughorn spoke up, "He helped win the game." The old man sounded proud.

"Snape?" Rosier's face was a portrait of confusion. "Severus? I can't stay on a broomstick for five minutes Snape? That Snape?"

"Yes," Slughorn said with a catch in his throat. "Suppose having a good broom helped." Horace realized he had just said the wrong thing.

"That Klutz rode MY broom?"

Standing up strait and puffing out his chest, Slughorn wasn't going to let a mere student take charge of this conversation. "Yes, Severus rode YOUR broom. And he helped us win, or didn't you hear that bit?"

The captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team cowed a little in the shadow of his head of house. Slughorn soon softened his tone and suggested, "I think I had better get you over to see the Matron as well. Let's go lad."

Knowing he could not refuse to go, Rosier followed Slughorn back to the infirmary. Along the way the professor explained to Evan about how if Snape hadn't rode his broom in the game, they would have had to have forfeited. He included how Severus had shut the Gryffindors up, and how his distracting everyone with his face goal gave Regulus the chance to get the Snitch. "So don't bite his head off about the stupid broom when you see him."

Rosier had heard what Old Sluggy had said, but it wasn't Severus who he was really ready to clobber. He hadn't told the professor the whole story of his disappearance, and the professor hadn't really asked.

In the Hospital wing the discussion of the game had moved on into all manner of subjects. During this exchange, Wilkes had sidled up next to Corona. He spoke directly to her even though Xeno could hear. "Severus has a strange sense of humor. I could see why Lovegood might amuse him. But why would someone as delightful as yourself want to be friends with Snape?"

It was now that Corona notice the way Wilkes had been looking at her. She didn't like it one bit. Severus was beginning to notice as well. "Leave her alone Wilkes."

"What Severus?" Wilkes asked smoothly. "I'm with you. I would mind a little inter-house inter-action. If you know what I mean."

"You best not mean it," Sev and Xen said at exactly the same time. Both looked cross, but Snape looked rabid.

Wilkes laughed. "You really do have such entertainment value Snape. Like Evan always says, you can't take a joke."

Severus knew Wilkes was not joking. Again it was Regulus who broke the tension. "Come on you knobs, this is supposed to be a celebration, not a pissing contest."

Black had an idea why Wilkes was suddenly acting like Rosier's double. He had to laugh. Neither of them had met the Dark Lord, let alone promise to take the mark as he had. He knew that all of his friends were trying to prove who would be top dog among the Slytherin for the next few years. As he looked around the room Regulus felt as if most of them would be the brawn of the future Death Eaters, be it physically, or in hexing.

Because of his cousin Narcissa, and her husband, Black knew that Voldemort valued, and rewarded, brains as well. He was sure, that like Lucius, he and Severus would be In the top ranks. Regulus had a feeling when Snape was grown, he'd be dangerous. Though he did not doubt that Severus would eventually give way and join the Death Eaters, Regulus knew that some small amount of respect, or rather awe, for Dumbledore still resided somewhere in Severus, though the latter would never admit it. For that reason Black knew Snape would never join the Death Eaters until he had left Hogwarts. Regulus himself had no such feelings. To him the old man was just an annoyance who stood in the way of wizard domination. He would join the Dark Lord as soon as it was allowed. What he didn't know was that someone else in that room had already been talking to someone else in the room about what it was like in a family that supported Voldemort, and one of those two wasn't a Slytherin.

Starting to feel the tension in the room, Corona suggested, "Perhaps we should let the Slytherins celebrate their victory."

Part of Xeno wanted to stay just to annoy them. Another part was feeling quite uncomfortable surrounded by Slytherin. He agreed with his girlfriend. "Perhaps." He dug into his book bag and pulled out the picture he had taken. "Here Sev," Xeno said while handing the photo over. "I thought you might like this." He was careful not to mention Snape's mother, not knowing which of the other Slytherin Severus had told about where she was.

The sly smile that stretched out on one side of Severus' mouth belied the full measure of the appreciation he was feeling at the time. Both Ravenclaws understood their friend wasn't about to get gushy in front of other Slytherins. His simple, "Thanks," was enough.

"We'll catch up later," Corona added as they left.

"What did that Ravenclaw bloke give you?" It was Goyle who snatched the photo out of Snape's fingers. "That's actually pretty cool." He handed it back.

Now the other Slytherins' interest was perked. Before anyone else could paw the photo, Severus turned it around. "It's me, and Regulus." The others echoed Grover's approval of the pic, and Sev stowed it away with plans as to where he was going to bring it. "So, where are the snacks you said you snuck in here?"

Just as Wilkes was producing the goodies, Professor Slughorn ran into the infirmary. "Miss. Pomfrey," he blustered at the first caregiver he saw. "You're going to need room for one more. I've found Mr. Rosier." No sooner had he said this when the bedraggled and painted in Slytherin colors Qudditch Captain walked in.

From all of the Slytherin boys there were questions of, "who did that to you?"

"Black," Evan hissed. "He distracted me while some others did it."

Snape was the first to point out, "No way, Black's been suspended."

"Not Sirius, Regulus!"

All eyes went to Regulus.

"That's impossible," Slughorn spouted. "He was in my sights the whole time."

Still looking murderously at Regulus, Rosier said, "If it wasn't Regulus, someone was doing a damn good impersonation of him."

"Potter," Severus said bitterly. "I'd lay down a hundred to one it was Potter."

The other boys voiced their agreement.

"Hold on now lads," the professor interceded. "Without proof, one can't go around accusing people because one doesn't like them."

Severus huffed audibly.

"Besides, Potter couldn't brew Pollyjuice Potion if his life depended on it," Slughorn let slip.

"But Lupin could," Severus surmised.

"Y-yes that's true. I'll have the Headmaster look into it immediately."

Again the sound of air passed out of Snape's mouth. "Like Dumbledore'd do anything to his precious Potter."

"If there is any proof, Dumbledore will do something. I'll see to it." Slughorn sounded confident as he went out as quickly as he had come in.

"Pa-leese," Severus hissed. "Potter may be a block head, but he wouldn't leave any evidence."

Later a de-painted Rosier was lain down on the cot next to the one Snape sat on. Miss. Pomfrey's eyes again rolled over the group of students still smelling of the Quidditch pitch. This time she saw that Severus had removed the bag of Balm Ice she had told him to hold on his face. "All of you out." There was much groaning. "You'll have plenty of time to do your celebrating when these two are ready to leave here." She continued to shoo the Slytherins out. "You Mr. Snape." She rounded on him. "Should know you won't get out of here any sooner if you don't listen to me." She pointed to the potion filled cloth that Severus had ditched on a side table. "Don't take that off your face until I tell you otherwise."

After a very short look of defiance, Severus put the bag back on his face. When she left he lifted it off and mumbled, "Took it off." Then he put it back on.

Rosier chuckled. "So," he started. "You really think it was Potter?"

"I have no doubt."

There was a stretch of silence before Evan spoke again. "I was a bit angry when I heard you rode my broom, you know."

It was after a few deep breaths that Severus gave his clipped reply, "No doubt."

Recognizing the signs that Snape was preparing for a snark attack, Rosier preempted with, "But I'm glad you did. You saved the season. We still have a chance at winning the cup on Wednesday."

"We?"

"Come on Sev, you're just as much a part of this team, even if we don't say it."

Snape had no comeback for this.

Rosier continued, "So I'm saying it. And I'm saying, we're going to get even with Potter."

This made Severus beam. "And how are _we_ going to do that?"

"What follows the last game?"

Again Snape had no answer.

"Friday," Evan prompted. "Duh, the dance."

A sound like air escaping a punctured tire came from Severus' direction. "That is the last place I plan on being the night before going home."

"Even if it means humiliating Potter?"

"You make a good point, Severus admitted. "Just how are you planning to humiliate Gryffindor's golden boy?"

"I was hoping you'd be clever enough to come up with something."

"Oh, I could think up plenty of things," Severus said in his most dangerous tone. "Plenty."

tbc


	31. Nagging Questions

They Call Me MISTER Snivs

Chapter 31

Nagging Questions

"Really, I can take another one," Xeno insisted. "A Proper one."

"It's not necessary," Severus told. "This one is . . ." He couldn't think of the any other word. "Brilliant."

The three friends were having a picnic breakfast so they could talk without the eyes of the entire school boring into them, or ears straining to hear what the Ravenclaws and the Slytherin could possibly be talking about.

"From the angle, one can't really tell who it is," Corona put her opinion in. She turned the picture, then her head to view it one more time. "It doesn't really look like you."

"That's what makes it so brilliant." Snape snatched the photo from his friend, placing it in an inner pocket of his robes.

"You know Sev, you're not as bad looking as you think."

The Slytherin boy raised his eyebrows at his friend. "Not according to everyone else."

"Since when is everyone else right?"

"This picture is fine. I'll be able to bring it today."

Xeno caught the delft way Snape had avoided Corona's question. But he thought his girlfriend was right. He himself had a bit of an odd look with his crossed eyes and ridiculously fine hair, but he still had a girlfriend. Severus wasn't the best looking bloke in the school, but he wasn't the most hideous either. He thought of Snape's Slytherin friends. Avery looked like an evil scarecrow, and Mulcibber looked like a mastiff; a really, really ugly mastiff.

"Really Severus, Xeno and I were talking before, and we thought you . . ." Rona's words made Xeno cringe. He didn't think she would tell Sev about the conversation they had had.

"You did, did you?" Severus didn't sound thrilled.

Ignoring her friend's question she finished. "You need to ask a girl to the dance."

Corona's smile did not fade when Snape said, "I do, do I?"

"Don't be like that," the girl said with a firm tone. "Just because you ask someone to go to a dance doesn't mean you're making a lifetime commitment, you know."

There was a part of Severus that wanted to be really angry, but there was just something about these two that made him drop his defenses. If he had a sister, he would have wanted her to be like Corona, and as odd as Xenophillus was, Sev would have liked to have a brother wizard. He had been thinking about that a few days before. He imagined what it would be like to have brothers and sisters. Each time he did, the happy little dream he made up was ruined by the thought of Toby. 'If Corona or Xeno had been raised along side of me,' he had thought. 'Dad would have messed them up just as much as me.' So in the end it was a good thing they were friends rather than family. As Mulciber always said, 'you can pick your friends. But you can't pick your friend's nose.' Though Avery had tried, once.

"So," Snape said keeping his scowl in place. "Just which of Hogwarts' sirens did you two decide I should ask?"

"We didn't decide," Xeno spoke up.

"Couldn't think of anyone who wouldn't run for the hills if I did?"

"Mr. Snape," Corona addressed Sev formally, impersonating Professor McGonagall. "You mean to tell me in all five years of attending Hogwarts, there isn't one girl you would want to ask to a dance.?" As soon as it left her mouth she knew it was the wrong thing to say. Embarrassed, she added in a weaker tone, "Besides Miss. Evans, I mean." She cleared he throat.

There really was no one else he would ask. That and the plan he was hatching with Rossier didn't lend itself to bringing a girl along. 'Unless,' Sev thought to himself. 'Unless they were in on it.' It would have to be a Slytherin if she were. "Some of my Slytherin mates are going to go stag," Snape informed. "I thought of going along with them."

Corona lit up. "So, you are actually going to go."

"Yeah." Severus was now having second thoughts about the mayhem he and his other friends were plotting. He'd have to make sure it was only Potter who got targeted. He was glad he had a reason to leave Miss. Solaris' penetrating look. "Not that I wouldn't love to spend the whole day with you two," he began. "But this is when I'm supposed to meet Dumbledore, to take me to St. Mungo's."

"I hope she's doing better," Corona said.

Xeno added, "me too."

"I hope the picture brightens her spirits," Sev admitted. "Thanks guys."

When Severus had departed, Xeno was the one who thought the Slytherins going stag was a little dodgy. "You don't think they'd be up to something, do you?"

"Who?" The normally perceptive girl asked. Her mind was on something else.

"Sev and his Slytherin mates."

"Oh," She said with a deep inhale. "I imagine they are. If I were James Potter, I'd be worried."

"What about everyone else?"

"Maybe Potter's friends. Rumor is they had something to do with Slytherin's Quidditch captain not showing up for that last game."

"And here I thought I was the investigatorial one."

"Don't worry." Corona laid a kiss on Xeno's cheek. "You can't know every rumor in the school, now can you?"

Xeno kissed her back. Glad that Snape had left.

As Severus drew nearer to the school's main gate, where he was to meet the Headmaster for the trip to London, he kept telling himself, 'Don't look suspicious. Don't look suspicious. Clear your mind. Clear your mind.' The last thing he needed was for Dumbledore to plumb his thoughts to find that he and his friends were up to something. To keep that thought in the back of his mind he put worry about what his nose looked like. He kept the memory of the Quaffle heading strait for his face the other day. Just thinking about it did make the boy nervous.

"I can assure you Mr. Snape, there are no Quaffles flying around here, or where we are going." As he had wanted, Dumbledore only saw what he wanted him to see. As they started walking away from the gate, the Headmaster proclaimed, "I think the Matron and her apprentice have done a wonderful job on your nose."

Snape couldn't help but shoot back, "They didn't make it disappear."

"Ah, I doubt there is anything I could say to make your thoughts on that matter change." But Dumbledore was going to say it anyway, "I myself think my own nasal individuality makes a distinguished impression."

"Sir, a break on a normal size nose might look interesting on you, but there is nothing distinguished about this monstrosity."

"And yet you have never tried to charm it away, or cover it up with some sort of glamour."

The young man cringed, saying without words, 'are you kidding.'

"I know Severus, that is not your style. You like to fly in the face of conventionality."

The younger wizard remained silent.

"That is why I don't understand why you seem to want to go along with your friends."

These words almost undid Severus' covering up about the prank the Slytherins were plotting for the dance. He only flinched slightly. It wasn't until Dumbledore continued talking did he realize the older wizard was not talking about that.

"I assume you've been invited to the Malfoy/Black wedding this summer."

Something sputtered out of Severus' mouth. This was a question he had not been expecting. When he pulled himself together he answered, "Of course, Sir."

"I suspect an old acquaintance of mine might be attending as well."

"Sir. I would have no idea." He didn't know, but he did have an idea. He might have gotten away with it if he hadn't added the cheeky amendment, "Lucius hasn't given me a copy of the guest list."

"Severus, this is nothing to joke about." Dumbledore had not shouted. He had said it in a most concerned tone. "I'd like to think you are intelligent enough to understand the consequences of certain decisions. There are some decisions one can not change once they are made."

Looking at the Headmaster with a most intense look on his face, a combination of anger, yet a touch of wanting to be believed, Severus told him, "I haven't made ANY decision." The boy turned away from the old man, crossing his arms in an all too familiar pose.

"I so want to believe you Severus. Anyway, we have an appointment to keep." Dumbledore put a hand on Snape's shoulder. Though it was light, it felt like a ton to the boy. He did not flinch, or shake it off because the wanting to see his mother outweighed any other feeling he was having. There was that sickening squeezing feeling of apparation, then they were in the lobby of St. Mungo's.

As Severus began to walk away from him, Dumbledore called after him. "Wait, you should take a few deep breaths before we go in to see your mother."

"We?"

"You may recall, the last time I left you here by yourself, there was a problem." The teacher could see the student growing angrier. "It will do no good to go in there in this mood."

"I wouldn't be in this mood if you hadn't brought up . . ." The name Severus wanted to say was not taboo yet. He and his Death Eaters were rising in popularity and power. Still, it was not a good idea to talk about Lord Voldemort in public. "You know who."

"A subject that you seem to be touchy about."

"I think everyone is touchy about that subject."

"Touché."

Severus felt this was the time to end that conversation. "If you insist on tagging along, shall we?"

Dumbledore nodded. He followed the young wizard, knowing he had chosen the wrong time to bring up the subject of rumors about Voldemort. He also knew that there were some of his students he would never be able to dissuade from joining the Death Eaters. He still had hopes that Severus wasn't one of those. He kept telling himself, 'the boy's not evil, just a bit confused.'

The Welcome Witch didn't have to be told who Dumbledore was, and this time she even recognized the young man walking in front of the professor. "Ah, young Mr. Snape. Here to see your mother again." It wasn't a question. "I'm glad I caught you."

"Don't tell me I can't see her," Sev moaned out.

"Oh no, you can see her, but she's been moved to a different ward." Reading the worried look on the boy's face she added, "She's actually gotten a little better." The Welcome witch waved her wand and a small piece of parchment appeared in her hand. "This is where she's at." She handed Severus the slip.

There was no Jake guarding the door to the new ward Eileen Snape had been brought to, but there was the familiar face of Healer Burnbott at the Medi-witch station. She greeted, "Professor Dumbledore, young Mr. Snape, I am so glad to see you."

In his head Severus was thinking, 'would you be so glad if I was alone?' Out loud he forcefully asked, "How is my mother?"

"Remarkably better."

Not showing how relieved he really was he asked in a monotone voice, "What room is she in?"

"Down here." The healer led the two wizards down one of the four hallways that made up this ward. She opened a door an announced their arrival. "Mrs. Snape, look who's here to see you."

"Severus!" She nearly knocked over the breakfast she had in front of her. She did look better, alert and fully aware of her surroundings. Severus righted the almost tipped tray before letting the woman reaching out for him embrace him. "My boy."

"Yeah Mum," Severus coughed out. "No need to choke me." In his mind he darkly added, 'leave that to Dad.' Eileen loosened her grip.

Seeing Dumbledore hovering by the door Eileen greeted, "Professor, thank you for bringing him."

"My pleasure Eileen. I'll be leaving now that Severus has been properly delivered." He asked the healer, "How long can Mr. Snape visit with his mother?"

"Well, she has nothing scheduled for a few hours." She turned to Severus. "Think you want to stay for two hours?"

Almost not believing he was going to be able to spend more than a few minutes with his mother, it took him a moment to answer, "Yes."

Dumbledore said, "I'll be back for you in two hours, then?"

"Yes."

The old wizard departed.

"I guess I should get out of the way as well," the healer added.

Unconsciously Sev kept his one word answer, "Yes." Just as unconsciously he pulled a chair to the side of his mother's bed. "I see you have a book." He had seen it when she was bear hugging him. He picked it up. He read the title aloud, "Murder on The Oriental Express? Mum this is, a Muggle book."

"I know, I know, but the healers don't want me reading any wizarding books, just yet."

"Not even The Broom Sweeps at Midnight?"

Eileen laughed. "You hate that book."

"I know, it's a stupid mystery book, but at least it's not Muggle." Sev gave the book another disparaging look, but he opened it. "I suppose I could read it to you."

"That would be nice. Your voice always sooths me."

"My voice?"

"Your voice." He was about to start reading when he noticed the second bed in the room. It was empty, but he asked, "Who's in that one?"

Eileen looked to her right and the second bed. "No one so far."

"That's good, no interruptions."

After reading for a while Severus got to the part when the body is found. The murder victim being stabbed twelve times. "Phuff," came out of the young man's mouth. "Pretty obvious."

Eileen looked at her son with a weary eye. "What's obvious?"

"It's obvious that . . ." Severus stopped himself from saying what he was going to say, replacing it with, "Obvious we'll never read the whole book in one sitting."

"Is that your way of saying you're tired of reading?"

"Not if you're not tired."

"I'd rather hear you sing."

"Muuuum."

"What no one else is here." There was a twinkle in her eye he had not seen in a long time. "You know my favorite one."

Severus bent the page he had stopped reading at before placing the book back on the night table it had come from.

"That's a wizarding song."

"They only said I shouldn't read wizarding books." Eileen giggled. "They didn't say anything about wizarding songs."

"Muuum, really. You know I don't like to . . ."

"Nonsense, you used to sing all the time when you were a little boy."

"Well if you hadn't noticed, I'm not a little boy anymore."

"But you'll always be my little boy. Even when you're a grown man, a whole seven months from now."

The woman was beaming. How could her son refuse her request. Severus closed his eyes and remembered what it used to be like when he felt free enough to sing out loud, in front of anyone. At first he hummed the tune. Then the words came out of his mouth.

_"You said you would give me a cauldron made of gold,_

_I do not want a cauldron made of gold,_

_A cauldron of gold will melt in the fire,_

_Give me a proper cauldron of iron._

_You said 'think how beautiful a cauldron would be if it were made of gold,'_

_I do not want a cauldron of made gold._

_A cauldron must be strong if our love it will hold._

_If our love is true,_

_Copper or iron will do."_

There was a smile on Eileen's face, but there was a different look on her son's face.

"I'm sorry Mum," Severus said. "I can't sing the rest."

"Why not, it was lovely."

He lied, "I don't remember any more of it."

"Oh." Eileen seemed disappointed. "Your voice has gotten a lot deeper." She sensed her son about to say something smarmy so she added, "You'll grow into it."

Severus wasn't really listening. He did remember the words to the song. It was about how one didn't need to have gold if one had love. He thought of his father, he certainly hadn't given his mother any gold, but he was far short in the love department as well. He could imagine what Toby was getting up to with Eileen there in London, and him all alone back home. "Times almost up anyway, Mum. Professor Dumbledore will be here in a few minutes to fetch me back to Hogwarts." He paused a moment and reached inside of his robes. "I almost forgot. Look." He showed her the picture Xeno had taken. "It's me. And Regulus Black." Eileen was looking at the photo of a celebrating Qudditch team. "It really is me." After several looks at the photo, then to her son, a smile came to her face.

"I know it's you. A mother always knows her boy."

tbc


	32. Potential

They call

Chapter 32

Potential

"Come on Snape," Rosier complained. "There has to be something you can think of."

"There are plenty of things I can think of," Severus informed. "The problem is, can we pull it off, and not get caught."

"Getting cold feet?"

Not wanting to dignify this question with an answer, Snape turned his face to the wall, away from his roommates, and pulled the covers up over his head. 'Cold feet indeed,' Sevthought to himself. When it came to hexing Potter, the North Pole wouldn't give him cold feet. It was the getting caught part that worried him. Evan's parents had more than enough influence to get him reinstated if he was thrown out of Hogwarts. Severus had no such luck. If he were expelled, that would be it. There was no way he was leaving Hogwarts as anything but a fully qualified wizard.

Snape could hear Evan grumbling, "Great, just great."

It was Wilkes who shut Rosier up. "Could you stop worrying about that stupid dance, and worry about the game." It was the night before the Quidditch final. The next day, they played Ravenclaw. If they won the Quidditch cup, the house cup would be theirs as well. "Sev will think of something. He always thinks of something."

There were no other noises in the room, except Mulciber's snoring, until Severus blurted out, "A house elf."

"A house elf where?" Evan asked. He was still half-asleep, but Snape had spoke so loudly, he couldn't help but wake up.

"I need a house elf," Snape elaborated.

By this time the rest of the roommates were awake. "A house elf? Sounds a little kinky," Mulciber and his one-track mind added to the conversation. Of course Avery sycophantically laughed. Sev hurled his pillow at Mulciber. "Ouch, that hurt."

"I'll make it a brick the next time, shall I?"

"What do you need a house elf for?" Rosier asked, trying to keep the two of them from going on that way.

"It's not the most cleaver plan," Sev started.

"Then it will be right up a few of this lot's alley," Regulus put in. The pillow was now being aimed at him. It left Mulciber's hand, but Black deflected it so it bounced back in the larger boy's face. "Don't try that crap with me."

"Knock it off," Rosier put in. "What is this not so cleaver plan?"

"Stinging Nettle."

"I don't know any house elf named Stinging Nettle."

"I can see Regulus is right. This will be right up your alley."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The elf isn't Stinging Nettle. We need the elf to sneak the Stinging Nettle into . . ."

"What the hell are Stinging Nettles then?"

"Nettle that stings, hence the name." Severus' snark didn't sink in. "Don't you pay any attention in potions, or herbology?"

"Uh, no."

"Snape," Black called over. "That is such a brilliant idea, I'll get the elf."

Now Rosier was insulted. "What's wrong with my elf?"

"Besides having a stupider name than most?" Regulus ragged on his friend.

"Before you two start the, my elf is better than your elf debate," Severus broke in. "We won't need the elf until tonight."

"Then why did you wake us up so bloody early?" Evan's moaned complaint ended the conversation. Everyone fell back asleep.

The day of the Quidditch final was an odd one. For the fifth and seventh years exams were over, they had no classes to attend. The game and the farewell feast were ahead for all of the students, but the only thing everyone was talking about was the dance for the older students that fell between the two. In the Ravenclaw common room, a boy and a girl were naming off other students.

"Mellissa Mulberry"

"No."

"Trudy Feldspar?"

"No."

"Drusilla Doonan?"

"Definitely not."

"Why not?"

"Trust me."

"Caroline Clearwater?"

Corona didn't reject this name as quickly, but after a few moments thought, she concluded, "No, not really."

"I give up," Xenophillus admitted. "I can't think of anyone else who might go with him, that he wouldn't say no to. Maybe we should stop looking and he'll go stag with his fellow Slytherin?"

"It looks like we don't have any other choice, and it really is his."

"And we spent all of this time trying to find a date for Snape because?"

"Because we want him to know that there are some girls in this school who would go with him, if he weren't so stubborn."

"Oh."

"So, you two going to root for your own house," Freda interrupted as she entered the common room. "Or do you think your slimy friend will play again today?"

"We'd root for our own house even if my slimy friend does play today," Xeno let slip.

"Xen," Rona gently reprimanded.

Xeno sincerely amended, "I didn't mean the slimy part."

"I know."

Their eyes locked onto each other's. Knowing what was coming next, Freda asked, "Do you two ever give it a rest?" Then she walked out of the room as Corona and Xeno kissed each other.

It just happened that Professor Flitwick was walking by at the same time. He cleared his throat before saying, "I don't think your parents sent you to Hogwarts to study that."

This time it was Corona who spoke before thinking, "Oh, we don't need classes for kissing Professor."

It would be difficult to tell whose face was redder, Xenophillius' or Flitwick's. "I suggest the two of you head out to the Quidditch pitch instead of occupying yourselves in such a manner," their head of house told them.

Xeno had a feeling Rona wasn't going to stop at one embarrassing statement. He was right. With out any loss of composure she told the teacher, "We can occupy ourselves the same way down at the Quidditch pitch." Taking Xeno's hand, she pulled him along with her out of Ravenclaw tower.

Flitwick stood there a moment looking as if he had just been dealt a mental judo trick. The girl was correct after all, they could do as much snogging at the game as they could inside. He supposed there were worse things than kissing they could be up to, but kissing usually led to those things. He decided he'd better keep an eye on those two.

Down at the Quidditch pitch, the two teems were starting to get ready for the game. Freda and Tristan happened to see Severus as he was only feet away from the changing rooms. "Hey Snape!" Tristan bellowed out, "Your face isn't going to save Slytherin this time."

From behind the two Ravenclaw players Rosier answered, "Who says Slytherin needs saving?"

From behind Rosier, Lloyd added his comment, "You're deluded if you think your beating us today Rosier."

From behind Lloyd, Mulciber had his own words of wisdom, "Bite me." Of course Avery had to echo, "Yeah Ravenclaw, bite me."

From behind Mulciber and Avery, a disgusted Sasha put in, "You are the last things on earth I would want to bite."

From behind Sasha, Regulus asked, "What and or who would you bite then?"

"Alright lads, ladies," Professor Slughorn intervened. "Enough of that kind of talk. We want a clean game today."

All of the Quidditch players turned to look at Slughorn, not just the Slytherin. Each and every one of them was thinking the same thing, 'A clean game? When had that ever taken place in a Quidditch final?' Especially when it involved a Slytherin team. It still broke up the trash talking session.

Having their captain back did not help the Slytherinswin. Despite all of his bravado, Evan had not been back to his full strength from the broom closet escapade only days ago. No one had ever seen Rosier miss as many shots as he missed that day. He was about to smash his very expensive broomstick against a wall when Snape stopped him by grabbing it mid-swing. "Are you out of your mind?" Severus asked. "It's not the brooms fault. Let's keep in mind who's it is."

"Potter. " Evan was convinced it was Potter. It was really James, though no one had any proof. "I should go break it over his head."

"As much as I'd love to see Potter's brains spilling out of his scull, it's not worth the broom. He'll be getting his tomorrow." When he was sure Rosier wasn't going to break his broom on anything, Snape let go.

As the dejected Slytherin team walked back to the castle, after everyone else already had, Snape found his two Ravenclaw friends still at the bottom of the path. They had been waiting for him.

"Hi Sev," Corona called out. "Sorry about the game."

This did not make Evan happy. "Sorry about the game," he sneered. "Your bleeding house wins, and you're telling Snape you're sorry. How can you be sorry your house won?"

In her most sincerest voice the Ravenclaw girl said, "Because I don't give two hoots about silly things like Quidditch cups." Rosier might have let off, but for what she said next, "And I don't think Severus really cares either."

Evan narrowed his eyes at Snape. "I knew your friends were flakes, but did you tell them you didn't care about things like Quidditch cups?"

"What if I did?" Severus was sick of Evan's mood swings. He hadn't said that it so many words, but he knew Corona could see into his heart. In the long run what did one Quidditch game mean? It wasn't as if winning a Quidditch cup could make his mother well again.

"If you did, you're as soft as those two." Rosier hurried off not waiting to hear what Severus had to say.

With trepidation, Xeno asked, "Tense fellow, that Mr. Rosier, isn't he?"

"You have no idea," Severus let slip.

Not missing a beat, Corona stated what seemed obvious to her, "I imagine being stuffed in that broom closet hasn't helped Mr. Rosier's stress level."

This was not what Severus was thinking about. He had been thinking about the pressure Evan's father had been putting on his son to get on board with the Dark Lord. There was no doubt what Rosier would be doing once he left Hogwarts. Not wanting either of his Ravenclaw friends to even guess at this Severus agreed. "Yes, it was quite an ordeal for him."

"Do you think those Marauder chaps had something to do with it?" Xeno asked.

"I don't have to think. I know."

"You're a bit prejudiced when it comes to Mr. Potter and his mates." Xenothought the look Severus was giving him was a bit aggressive, but he continued. "But I don't know who else would havethe nerve to try something like that."

Not that all of his Slytherinfriends were idiots, but Severus could see that Corona wasn't the only perceptive one of his Ravenclaw friends. If he only knew that Xeno knew more about Rosier's troubles than Snape ever would have suspected.

"I can't think of anyone else who'd have the nerve either."

"Certainly not a Hufflepuff," Corona put in.

"Because they're so daft," Sev snarled out.

Corona smiled. The smile unnerved Snape. He knew what he had said was not what she was thinking. "No Severus, because they're so nice." The look Corona was giving Severus made him feel as if she were looking right through him. As if there was nothing he could hide from her. "You think nice is daft?"

"No . . ." This no was a quivering one. He did believe nice was daft. At least whenever he had been nice, it turned out to be daft. "You're nice, but you're not daft."

"Glad you think so." Corona was still smiling. "And seeing that you don't think I'm daft, will you take my advice and ask a girl to the dance?"

"It's a little too late for that. The dance is tomorrow."

"I thought Slytherins liked challenges."

"Depends on the challenge. And I've told you there's no one I want to ask."

"Except Miss. Evans."

Severus shook his head. "I might haveto take that complement back. You may be perceptive enough to see my wishes, but I can assure you that isn't hers."

"You know what?" Corona asked as if she were up to something.

Snape answered anyway, "No, what?"

"Ravenclaws like challenges too."

"Meaning?"

"If I could get Miss. Evans to go to the dance with you, would you go?"

In his most sarcastic tone Severus replied, "I wouldn't want you to end up in Azkaban."

"Why would I end up there?"

"Because the only way you're going to get Lily Evans to go anywhere with me, let alone a dance, is if you put an imperius curse on her."

"You think that's the only way?"

"I do."

"I don't."

At this point Xeno cleared his throat. "Rona, what happened to it being Sev's decision?" Corona had clearly been taken up in the moment of trying to be a peacemaker.

"And if she would go with him, he'd decide it would be what he wants."

The two boys looked at each other. There was no explaining girl logic.

Corona ignored the looks and asked Snape, "You're not saying I can't try and get her to go with you, are you?"

Severus knew whatever Corona said to Lily it wouldn't work. If his apologies didn't work, nothing would. "If you want to go into the lion's den, all I can do is warn you not to."

Corona remembered how Lily had made sure Severus was not further embarrassed by what Sirius had done with the first picture Xeno had taken. She did not believe as Sev had told her that it was just because Lily was kind and would have done it for anyone. The Ravenclaw girl might have been a hopeless romantic, but that was not why she thought she had a chance of changing Lily's mind. Corona could sense the bond that still connected Lily and Severus. It was a bond that would always connect them, but not in the way Corona thought.

tbc


End file.
